Students should take an active role to ensure they enroll and remain enrolled in the correct classes for the spring semester, University officials said.
Interim Registrar Libby Barlow said the registration and enrollment process should proceed more smoothly than in the fall semester, as staff and students now have experience working with PeopleSoft 8.9.
"Where there have been errors for which the University is responsible, we have made the corrections to the process, the charges and/or the students’ enrollments," she said.†"I expect things will go much more smoothly in the future."
Barlow said students should check their status often through the PeopleSoft Self Service option available to students to catch any problems. PeopleSoft Self Service can be reached through the "Current Students" link on the main UH Web site, www.uh.edu.
"Students should check their enrollments daily through Self Service well into the semester," she said.†"If they are disenrolled from any classes, advisors will be able to identify the source."
Advertising junior Zahra Lahlou said she incorrectly believed she had signed up for an incremental payment plan with the University for the fall semester, and she was dropped from about half of her classes for nonpayment. After attending the Student Government Association’s town hall meeting on financial aid problems in September and being shuffled from department to department, she was never reinstated in the classes, she said, though she was in good academic standing and could pay the balance.
"I was supposed to finish school this upcoming spring," she said. "Now I will be in school ’til next fall."
She recommended for students to track their courses and payment plans carefully to avoid the same problem.
"They should follow all the steps ’til the end and make sure it’s confirmed and it’s done," she said. "Keep checking your classes and make sure everything is on there. If you don’t, you’ll be surprised like I was."
Students can be dropped for a number of reasons, including non-payment, excessive absences or lack of pre-requisites. Advisors can direct dropped students to who they should talk to, Barlow said.
Jan. 8 is the payment deadline for the spring semester, at the end of which students, who have not either paid in full or set up a payment plan with the University, will be dropped from their classes.
Sal Loria, interim director of Scholarships and Financial Aid, said he does not anticipate the same financial aid delays and problems in the spring that caused some students to be unenrolled in the fall.
"Especially (loans) that have already been awarded and package their money will come in, and if they’re still meeting the eligibility for continuation requirements they won’t experience the same problems they experienced in the fall," he said, noting Scholarships and Financial Aid is also improving financial aid staff training.
Most students who experienced problems in the fall did not complete the financial aid process, Loria said, noting students must choose a lender and complete forms at TG Loans by Web, found at https://lbw.tgslc.org, to finalize their loans.
Loria said students whose financial aid will not completely cover their tuition and fees must take steps to rectify the remaining debt by Jan. 8.
"Whether it’s with a payment plan or whatever else, they need to satisfy that difference," he said.
Instructor-initiated drops can occur at any point in the semester and will result in a W for the course, which does not affect grade-point average, if the drop is made before the deadline to drop. Students are limited to six Ws for their undergraduate careers.
Many dropped students misunderstood the process of enrolling and paying for classes, Barlow said, and actively tracking their enrollment status can help.
"For example, some students assumed that applying for financial aid was all they had to do and didn’t understand they had to accept the financial aid offer before it would apply to their account; other students did not understand that money paid for one class would not necessarily apply to a different class added later," she said. "Students can take steps to protect themselves by making sure they read policies and heed deadlines; checking their enrollments daily is the next best insurance."
Barlow also said students should also work closely with advisors to ensure they enroll in the correct courses to further their degree plans.
"If students wait until late in the semester to discover they are or are not enrolled in what they think they are enrolled in, it is usually too late to fix it," she said.
