By encouraging students to pay tuition in a timely manner, Allen Community College administrators believe they will be doing students a favor in the long run. ACC BOARD members agreed to amend the student courseload guideline in the college’s academic policy handbook.
Students who have not paid their tuitions in full by two weeks after the start of the semester will be dropped from enrollment.
The deadline to pay tuition in full is officially the first day of classes. The two-week grace period accommodates stragglers.
The deadline is new, said Cynthia Jacobson, vice president of student affairs. Before, the college simply tried to track down delinquent accounts with no official deadline.
As of the first day of classes, ACC President John Masterson said there were 861 students who had not paid for their semester of classes in full — he and Jacobson were shocked at the amount.
After pursuing the delinquent accounts, Jacobsen was able to secure 604 payments in full. Another 256 students were forced to dropped their classes, for lack of full payment.
Tuition numbers are down slightly due to the change, but both Jacobson and Masterson agreed it was something that needed to be done, for the students and for the college.
“We need to change the culture, and we took one big step in changing that culture,” Masterson said. “Students now know that we mean business.”
The new deadline also allows students to receive a full refund if they choose to drop a class. This year’s deadline to pay for classes was Sept. 1. The fall semester began Aug. 19.
Jacobson said the original system left students in debt if they failed to pay tuition and withdrew from a course after the refund date. While the time has been shortened, she said it will keep students from losing any money they had paid for courses.
“We kind of ripped the bandage off,” Jacobson said. “We thought we were being nice to students, but we really weren’t.”
Students wanting to take more than 18 hours of classes for a 16-week semester are not required to receive a signature from the dean of their college; a signature from the vice president of academic affairs is required for those wishing to take on a 21-hour load.
As for eight-week semesters, such as summer courses, students wishing to take on 12 hours of courses, as opposed to the suggested nine, must receive a dean’s signature as well.
College cracking down on payments
