PARIS to block 1,800 students

Approximately 1,500 students who have significant debts to the University will not be able to register for classes in the spring term, Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus said last night. In addition, slightly more than 300 students will be blocked from PARIS, the computerized registration system, beginning Monday for failing to submit their health and immunization records to Student Health Service, according to Vernell Edwards, immunization coordinator for Student Health. The number of students currently on financial hold represents a drop of 350 students from those placed on hold two weeks ago, Claus said. About 1,850 students were notified last week of their on-hold status, a number slightly lower than Claus' original estimate of 2,200 students. Students placed on financial hold cannot register for the next academic term, obtain academic transcripts or receive degrees from the University. According to Edwards, the first-year graduate and undergraduate students who had not submitted health records as of a week and a half ago were notified that they would be barred from registering until they provided a completed file. "We've been pretty busy in the last week or so -- we sent 1,700 letters to students -- and so far the response has been great," Edwards said. He added, however, that the real problem is with students who have yet to respond to the letters sent out by Student Health. "We're pretty strict -- if they don't comply, they can't register," Edwards said. Claus added that the number of students unable to pre-register this year is about 1,000 students lower than the comparable figure at this time a year ago. He attributed this decrease largely to increased monitoring of student debt. The number of students with large outstanding balances has also decreased, a trend which makes it easier for students to get off financial hold, Claus said. Financial hold only applies to students who have outstanding balances of $1,000 or more for the current and previous semesters. Students who owe less money will not be barred from using PARIS, receiving degrees or getting their transcripts. Last year, the University revised its financial hold policy to include money owed by students for the current semester. Before that, Claus said, students could accumulate a debt of up to $25,000 to 30,000 before they were affected by the policy. "We're doing pretty good this year," said Claus. "By the time [pre-registration] is finished we'll see the numbers down to a manageable level, about 500."

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