University administrators are working to get students geared up for the fall semester appropriately by adhering to the newly implemented drop policy that requires stricter payment deadlines.
Students must have tuition fees paid or enter into a payment plan by 5 p.m., August 14 to remain enrolled in the University. Otherwise, students will be dropped from their classes and must begin the enrollment process again.
"It is possible to pay part of the tuition, and to get other help. UH officials in financial aid are ready to help," Senior Vice President and Provost Donald Foss said. "The key is to make proper arrangements by that date. Students will lose their places in the classes and may find that the schedule is not what they want."
The new policy was drafted in March with a $100 late registration fee for re-enrollment that the University dropped after opposition from the Student Government Association and students on Facebook.
The previous policy existed for 40 years and was changed to provide fairness so students will no longer hold classes "hostage," Director of Student Financial Services Gene Gillis had said in late April when the policy was first presented.
Also repercussions from the state have forced the University to have a stricter policy, he said.
"The University has lost funding from the state when a class was dropped too late for another student to add the class," Gillis said. "That loss of funding means the University has to make up for the loss in other ways."
Enforcing and changing the registration procedures are necessary because of the law, for fairness and to help students commit to their education, Foss had said.
"It’s important that students be able to sign up for classes they need," he said. "Allowing the enrollment process to drag on was compromising that."
In previous semesters, between 6,000 and 10,000 students did not complete their registration according to the state requirement; in Spring 2007, more than 7,000 students did not comply, Gillis said.
Biology freshman Krystin Ramos supports the enforced deadlines.
"The August 14th deadline is probably a good thing," she said. "You can get everything financially done before school starts, and you won’t have to worry about it."
Students can register for payment plans on PeopleSoft.
Foss and other administrators strongly suggest that all students should check their PeopleSoft accounts and stay up-to-date with their class registrations and fees.
Three payment plans are available for students who are unable to pay the full fee by the August 14 deadline.
Two are loans; the short-term loan, strictly for students who live on campus, and the emergency tuition loan, a 90 day loan that does not cover optional fees such as parking.
The other is an installment payment plan, which allows students to pay the fee within three payments, as long as the first payment is equal to at least 50 percent of the current balance.
"The payment plans are nice because it gives options for other students who may not have the funds to pay their full tuition by the deadline," Ramos said.
For more information, call the registrar at (713) 743-1010.
