UCA enacts new policies to diminish student debt

Two new policies went into effect at the University of Central Arkansas this week to encourage the students who have contributed to millions of dollars in delinquent debt to start paying.

Tom Courtway, interim president of UCA, met with the school's vice presidents Monday and the group decided immediate action must be taken to whittle down the $4 million in debt accrued from past and present students in tuition and fees and food service and housing costs.

The first step taken was to prevent all students who have not either paid in full or contributed to a payment plan from registering for the spring semester, according to Courtway.

"Obviously we want them to register and we are going to be understanding in the economic times that we're in, but by the same token, the outstanding account will either need to be paid in full or they'll need to make some form of satisfactory arrangement to be paid off," Courtway said Wednesday.

Another policy put into place this week concerns students who have made no effort to respond to notices regarding late meal plan payment.

"There are a few students out of the overall population who, after at least three notices have been issued this semester, have still not paid anything on their meal plan and we have taken steps to notify them once again," Courtway said. "We have also given them five days' notice and here in a few days their meal plan will be suspended if they don't make an effort to pay."

Courtway said the students who may be subject to this suspension are those who have not even approached the student accounts office to set up an installment plan for payments.

He declined to specify the number of students who fall under this category.

"We're understanding, we're willing to work with them, but we have to get something in effect that will begin to whittle this accounts receivable indebtedness down," Courtway said.

Courtway said he is confident that creating these two policies was the prudent course of action. He added there have already been instances this week of students paying their account balances in full in order to register.

However, the students on the UCA campus met the new policies with mixed emotions Wednesday.

Jared Brown, a senior digital film major, said he disagrees with the action taken by the UCA administration and added his own personal experience with a held account makes him think other students will disagree, as well.

According to Brown, a hold was placed on his UCA account this summer due to "unpaid expenses," and as a result, he could not add or drop classes or receive a transcript. He said the hold came from two summer courses that would have been covered by scholarship money paid in the fall.

"I could not send my transcripts to my scholarship boards because I had the hold on my account," Brown said in an e-mail. "In turn, I couldn't prove I had the money so that I could get my grades and I couldn't prove I had the grades so I could get my money. It took two days of me talking to five or six different people in order to prove the money was in my account and get the hold lifted."

Because of the trouble with his account this summer, Brown said he only foresees similar problems being compounded by the administration's move.

"I understand institutions need money to function, but I don't feel like alienating students will help," Brown said.

On the other hand, senior sociology major Jodie Fairchild said she believes the steps taken to rectify UCA's million-dollar debt are the correct ones.

"I think that it's understandable that the university would want students to pay the money owed and I personally agree with their decision," Fairchild said in an e-mail. "I think this system of putting holds on accounts so students can't register has been used in the past and it seems to be effective."

Although Fairchild sides with the administration on their decision, she said she assumes many of her fellow students will react negatively.

"Not letting them register due to money owed to the university literally puts their futures on hold," Fairchild said. "Times are hard right now for everyone, not just UCA, and maybe some lenience could be used to help students who have a large debt to UCA. It's no secret that tuition continues to increase here at UCA and for some students it is hitting their pocketbook hard."

Fairchild also pointed out with the state of today's economy, it is becoming harder for students to receive loans, putting students in extreme debt themselves.

Courtway said he attributes the university's side of the collected student debt to problems that go beyond the troubled economy.

"I think the economy is part of it, this debt is certainly attributable to that, but another part of it is that we weren't as aggressive previously with this as I believe we need to be now," Courtway said.

A lag in student paper work has also been a factor in the debt, Courtway added. He said UCA officials have discovered some students who are behind in payments are actually eligible for loans and Pell grants, they just haven't signed the forms.

"It can be a combination of factors an oversight on their part, economic problems and other things, but we're trying to go through it orderly and reasonably and be fair to everybody," Courtway said.

The recent financial struggles at UCA have stemmed from several factors other than student debt, including a lag in state funding, temporarily frozen assets held by Wachovia Corp. and overspending in scholarship funds.

Courtway has said in past interviews that through a $4.5 million cut in scholarship spending earlier in the year and an approved $6 million line of credit and $3.5 million advance from state appropriations, the university will soon be back on course financially.

The UCA chief has also said more changes for student scholarships are on the way, including the way presidential discretionary scholarships have been handled. In a recent interview, Courtway said $1.6 million in a publicly funded discretionary account went toward scholarships issued by former president Lu Hardin.

Courtway said Wednesday the design of those scholarships is still under review, but an announcement concerning its changes should be expected sometime next week.

(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)