Oracle Online

Students who owe more than $500 will have a one-time five percent fee of their current balance added to their outstanding accounts. In addition, after 30 days, students who owe in excess off $2,000 will have various services necessary to academic achievement cut off unless they contact the financial aid department to set up a flexible payment plan. These services include Netmail, the university network, NetStorage, online library databases and material checkout, and Piperline.

The policy places the onus on students to search for their own solutions. Pull yourself up, the policy could be categorized as saying.

But until that happens, relationships between the university and the student will deteriorate, if only by severing important lines of communication.

The new policy will reduce communication between the university and student to pre-Internet days. The only modes of communication left would be phone calls and snail mail, something students may be less than likely to do.

Other colleges de-register students who can’t pay their tuition tab. Interim Dean of Students Presley Martin said the university’s new system isn’t as draconian as our fellow colleges. But by cutting off network access to students, the most effective lines of communication have been disconnected despite the ethernet cord still being in the wall.

This system is not so abrupt as de-registering students. However, it a form of academic torture which reduces the students’ capacities to expand their knowledge and put their skills into practice.

Students in courses that depend on all-class e-mail discussions would be cut off from learning, and again, effectively de-registered.

While we realize that some sort of policy is necessary for the fiscal stability of the university, if enforced to its fullest extent, it will push students away from the university and make them more likely to ignore messages and letters.

Do students ignore the financial aid office enough to warrant a policy this strict? Do they ignore an office that is more than willing to help students who are in a financial crisis? Apparently so.

Logically, the five percent fee does not make sense. If a student is struggling to pay a debt, what effect will adding to that balance have? Why charge someone more if they can’t pay the original debt? It is a catch-22. Those who can’t pay are charged more in an attempt to make them pay what they can’t.

Alternatively, who will be picking up the extra paperwork and administrative overhead?

These questions must be thought out before this policy is enforced. We are fearful for those whose who must suffer under such punishment.