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July 10, 2007

Tuition and Fees

Students will lose seat for nonpayment

In the spring, students who have not paid tuition by the due date will be dropped.

Story by: J. Blankenship

The Shorthorn staff

The Shorthorn: Robert Rodriguez

Bursar Services representative Charlene handles money Monday in Davis Hall. The new payment policy, which will go in effect Jan. 8, 2008, means students’ unpaid classes will be automatically dropped from their schedule. Employees in the Bursar’s office are not allowed to give out their last names.

Registration can be challenging for many students, but re-registration?

Late payments will come to just that as a recent policy change abruptly kicks some students out of class. Plan ahead and stash some cash as the university swings into mainstream-business mode.

Business Services announced it will start with registration and trickle down to the final payment date of Jan. 9, 2008.

Unpaid enrollments will trigger automatic deletion of a student’s schedule, and no placements will be held. Students who miss the due date face mandatory re-registration. If classes are full at that point, priority will have been lost. Upperclassmen graduation plans could easily be damaged, so prompt payment becomes critical.

The policy change goes back to the university’s previous procedures, still commonly used by other institutions. Students planning for the spring semester are immediately impacted. Those now selecting courses and choosing payment methods must understand and take action to avoid a ripple effect.

Accounting senior Sandy Williams-Wyche feared the policy could delay graduation for some students by at least a semester. He understands the university needs its money and pointed out that it already has some significant collateral clout. Seniors can’t get their diplomas with a past-due bill on the record. He suggested a one-week grace period for students and a two-week grace period for seniors.

“I don’t think an extra week or two would hurt the university,” he said. “Under this new policy, any kind of a mix-up could stall my graduation. I don’t want that.”

Business Services anticipated these student concerns and now offers a more student-friendly payment plan, executive director Ehren Wixson said. Created by suggestions from an area coalition of bursars, Wixson said students may choose a plan online requiring a one-third payment up front and two additional equal payments in March and April.

“We used to require a 50 percent down payment, and we’re lowering it to just one third,” Wixson said. “New laws made that possible, and that’s a first.”

New payment plan announcement cards are available in Davis Hall, he said. Students will also be alerted electronically through their MyMav e-mail accounts, which Wixson urges students to check frequently.

Billing notices, registration announcements, financial aid processes and drops are all handled online. Douglas Bergere, Business Services special projects director, said students can avoid most administrative problems by routinely checking their e-mail.

“Students won’t be dropped if they have an accepted financial agreement on record with us,” he said. “That means they need to check their e-mail and actually accept financial aid online when it is offered.”

Students skipping that step risk losing their financing altogether, and foiled arrangements can mean lost seating as Business Services focuses on freeing up places for students who have paid to be in class.

“This is all about the students,” Wixson said.

Students can verify lender, grant and other registration payments by logging into the Student Center on MyMav, said Ray Boldreghini, Financial Aid Office financial aid associate director. Most students receive some type of financial aid, and the MyMav system automatically searches for anticipated aid that’s been formally offered and accepted.

“Those students will be exempt from the automatic drop,” Boldreghini said. “But don’t wait until the week before the semester starts. Get your paperwork in early so you can get approved.”

According to a UCLA Internet study, 76 percent of e-mail users check their e-mail at least once a day. Many check it several times a day. But that report pertains to personal accounts, not official student accounts.

“Checking e-mail daily is so important,” Boldreghini said. “I wish I could get every faculty member to write it on the chalkboard and put it in the class syllabus. It’s that important.”