Late registration fees haunt students

Written by Barbara Ford
(fordba@mscd.edu)

Metro students who wait too long to register for classes won’t just face a smaller choice of classes, but a higher bill now that the late registration fee is in place.

The late fee policy was approved in September 2008 and implemented for the first time this semester. If students miss the registration deadline, a $100 fee is added to their total tuition bill.
Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services Judi Diaz Bonacquisti said this new policy isn’t in place to penalize students but to change behavior.

“This is a completely avoidable fee,” Bonacquisti said.

The $100 late fee seems like a lot of money, but it could have been double that amount.

The initial proposal for the fee was $200, before it was decided the fee could become a deterrent and lowered to the current amount.

Not all see the late enrollment fee as being a good thing, even with the changes in the originally proposed amount.

The fee is automatically applied as soon as a student registers late and in order to get the fee reversed, the student must complete a form from the Office of Enrollment Services.

Emily McKissick, assistant to the vice president for enrollment services, works with Bonacquisti reviewing the applications and determining if a refund will be authorized.

However, of the 2,000 students who applied for exemption from the late fee rule, only nine were granted a refund.

“Most students are concerned and just need to have the reason why their fee wasn’t refunded explained,” McKissick said. “But it helps if they are businesslike when they have a problem.”
Revenues from the late registration fee added $200,000 to the general fund this semester.
Students who register on time have better choices for classes and new students can register earlier for required college orientation classes and avoid being penalized.

Planning ahead also prevents burdening school resources that are already stretched thin. Metro will have to pay $2.83 million back to the state of Colorado. This coupled with a 13 percent increase in applications and a 10 percent increase in acceptances to Metro for fall 2009, planning ahead is crucial.