Allen Community College has become a veritable melting pot, with students far and wide taking advantage of the school’s low costs for a college education.
But steps the college took in the past to accommodate some students came at a price, trustees were reminded Tuesday.
As a result, Allen’s decisions to tighten its rules regarding international student enrollment drew a group of about 30 such students to Tuesday’s meeting.
Their biggest concern was Allen’s decision to no longer allow international students to pay their tuition and fees in installments.
“Allen Community College is known for being one of the most diverse junior colleges in America,” noted Tanika Rother, a freshman who hails from South Africa. “I truly wouldn’t want any future Allen athletes or students to not be able to have the same experience of diversity as we’ve had.”
At issue are several policies the college put in place for the upcoming school year, including doing away with a payment plan; requiring all international students to live on campus; and mandating those students be enrolled in the college’s food service meal plan, which covers 19 meals a week.
“We felt not everyone is aware of the changes being made, and the effects those have, not only on the students, but on Allen itself,” Rother said.
“We understand costs are uncontrollable,” she said. “But when you have students struggling to pay for items when they were cheaper, we need that payment plan.
“I fear Allen will not be the same if this is not reconsidered,” Rother said.
But there’s a problem with allowing international students to pay off their bills in installments, President Bruce Moses explained — it’s illegal.
Moses joined with Director of Finance Roberta Nickell and Vice President for Student Affairs Cynthia Jacobson in breaking down the college’s rationale for its decisions.
The college’s payment plan was opened up for international students a few years back after a handful were having difficulty in getting money transferred from their home countries to the United States.
“We did it as a pilot program, to see how it goes,” said Jacobson, who admitted to having some trepidation about the plan from the start.
But what became a convenience for a few soon became a troubling trend, Nickell said.
In the fall, 11 students were delinquent in getting their installments paid on time; 12 were late with their payments this spring.
