By: Syd Bickers Photo by:
Students with outstanding payments for this semester will be dropped from class enrollment, evicted from on-campus housing and removed from the meal plan by noon Wednesday, Sept. 4, if outstanding bills are not covered by Tuesday, Sept. 3.
“[Students] may not think we’re serious, but we are serious,” said Vice President for Business and Finance Jacqui Steadman, on behalf of her department.
The new initiative is called the “Purge Policy”. Steadman said the policy was put in place due to a three-year decline in the number of students that checks in during registration. She said the drop in students showing up for registration could coincide with payment “procrastination,” as students are notified of outstanding balances during registration.
Steadman said more students showed up for this year’s registration than the previous two years, however. Students with outstanding account balances were asked to sign a form stating that they were aware that final payments must be made by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
Information about the policy was first published in students’ award letter instruction booklets that were released in March and April, and an email alert was sent out at the end of last semester. Steadman said students were also alerted by mail this summer.
During an interview on Wednesday afternoon, Steadman said her office was working on compiling a list of all outstanding students and their contact information that day. Steadman said, “at a minimum” the office would notify students by email on Thursday or Friday. The finance department was also going to attempt to call and send text messages to students’ phones by Friday. As of Wednesday afternoon, Steadman said the purge list might be too large for workers to contact all students by phone. She would not release the number listed.
Students may re-enroll after being purged but not without consequences.
“In order to re-enroll they will have to address whatever hasn’t been addressed,” said Steadman. “They will have to pay, or finish their financial aid paperwork – whatever it is that isn’t finished.”
Students will then have to be approved for re-enrollment and pay a $100 fee.
“That’s probably not a big enough incentive,” said Steadman. “We don’t want to do this. We just can’t figure out a better way to make students understand that they have to get this done.”
*Students who fear the purge should contact their financial service counselor in the Financial Aid Office at McCown Cottage. Students with last names starting with the letters A-K should contact Counselor Penny Gindlesperger at 800.447.4880. or PHGindlesperger@milligan.edu. Students with last names starting with letters L-Z should contact Counselor Lauren Tomlinson at 800.447.4880 or LMTomlinson2@milligan.edu.
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