By Christopher Williams
Starting fall 2007, the deadline to pay tuition and fees will bump up from the second day of class to seven calendar days prior to the beginning of classes.
Students who fail to meet the new deadline will have holds placed on their accounts, restricting their ability to add or change classes. The new policy also provides for a final payment deadline: class registrations will be deleted if payment of tuition and fees is not received by midnight of the day following the deadline to add classes, which will be September 18 this Fall Semester.
Once a student''s classes have been deleted, the classes will not be reinstated if a student makes late payments, and as the deadline to add classes will have already passed, the student will be unable to reregister for classes.
'This new policy really is to encourage students to prepare financially before they start a term or semester,' said Carri Jenkins, assistant to the president for university communications at BYU.
University officials said by deleting students'' classes for non-payment, they are helping students who are temporarily unprepared financially for a BYU education to avoid the accumulation of debt. This approach also helps students avoid significant collection charges imposed by collection agencies.
In the past, some students have started school without the sufficient funds required to cover all expenses. Many of these students had to drop out halfway through the semester, said Jay Hanson, director of BYU Student Financial Services, in a news release.
Jenkins said although the number of students who were dropping out because they were unable to pay tuition was not large, it was still a problem.
'It was a concern to the university to have even one student have to discontinue studies halfway through the semester,' Jenkins said.
The new policy may cause complications for some students, however.
David Robinson, an exercise science major from Medford, Ore., couldn''t pay his tuition on time this semester because of extenuating circumstances.
'I had assumed I would get a reimbursement for my housing deposit in Rexburg a while beforehand, but there were some complications,' Robinson said. 'They told me it would be a few weeks, but it''s been a few months.'
In an effort to help students who cannot pay tuition by the deadline but are confident that funds are or will be available to them in the future, the university offers the option of taking out a short-term loan. These loans do not have to be paid until three-quarters through the semester, and, if repaid on time, are interest-free.
According to BYU''s Web site, university officials hope moving the due date for tuition payments will spread the demand on administrative offices and computer systems away from the first few days of class, thus reducing the size of lines to pay bills and speak with financial personnel.
Jon McDonald, a linguistics major from St. George, said although the deadline changes seem a little aggressive, he doesn''t see a problem with the change.
'It doesn''t surprise me because they''re trying to run a business,' McDonald said. 'This will just make the money come in on time.'
For more information regarding the policy changes, visit http://saas.byu.edu/newtuition.