New bursar's office fee will hit procrastinators

Anyone who adds units after the twenty-first day of classes will have to pay the new late-registration fee, according to a memo circulated by Michael Gottfredson, vice president of undergraduate education.

The penalty was scheduled to kick in this semester, but miscommunications about its start date prevented its enforcement. Gottfredson said the new penalty will be enforced in the spring, adding he was hoping "to eliminate the considerable ambiguity that existed in the original announcement."

The clarification, on pages 10 and 11 of the Spring 1998 Schedule of Classes, states any student who adds credit hours after the deadline, including students who have already paid full-time fees, will pay the extra $250.

The new fee was proposed by members of an administration committee convened to study declining enrollment at the UA. In addition to declining enrollment, the Enrollment Management Committee found the University was losing money because of late registration. State funding is contingent upon official enrollment numbers, which are published on the twenty-first day of school.

"State funding was going down because there was this continual adding of classes after the twenty-first day," bursar's office manager Nancy Hanson told the Arizona Daily Wildcat in September.

"The University was not getting state funding for those students," she added.

The $250 fee officially is for "unsubsidized registration," since no state funds are cut off after the official enrollment number is made public.

The new penalty comes in addition to the current $250 delinquent payment fine, which also is imposed after the twenty-first day of classes.

Students coming out of the Administration building yesterday had mixed feelings about the penalty fee.

Rosemary Rosas, an elementary education senior, said she wasn't bothered by the late fee and that it should encourage students to take their education seriously.

"I think that students have a responsibility not to procrastinate ... I think the University gives them ample time to get registered," she said.

Cathrine Rianda, a marketing junior, said she knows she will probably need to add units after the Feb. 4 deadline, but may have a way around the $250 fee.

"I'll have to go ahead and pay the full tuition," said Rianda, adding that she is enrolled for three units for the spring but wants to add 12 more at a later date.

Graduate student Huimin Zhao said he may need to add a course after the deadline but was unaware of the $250 penalty.

"Wow - I think it's too much," he said.

Freshman Chico Brown said he had to pay the fine at the start of this semester because he had to wait for financial aid before adding one course - after the deadline. Brown was checking up on his financial aid account yesterday and added that he may need add five courses after this year's deadline.

"I don't like (the fees) at all, I don't think it's fair," he said. "It's not our fault that we have to wait for money."