Imagine having to pay for something you never received. Nowimagine the something is a very expensive semester of classes atThe University of Memphis.
For former U of M student Jo Grayson, an imagination is notnecessary. For two years, she has been dealing with Universityofficials, lawyers and a collection agency.
Grayson, 61, was attending graduate school in 2001, when shelost her financial aid and could not afford to pay for a comingsemester of classes. Grayson said she thought her classes would beautomatically dropped since her aid was cancelled.
But a little over a month later, she found out her classes hadnot been dropped, and she owed the university more than $1,000 inregistration fees.
"I couldn't believe it," Grayson said. "I thought it was all amistake."
Grayson was informed that since she had not officially withdrawnfrom the classes by either of The University's registrationoptions, Stripes or Tigerweb, she would have to pay for classes shenever attended.
After a long struggle with the Bursar's Office, a retroactivedrop letter signed by the chair person of the department shemajored in and several "harassing" calls from collection agencieson behalf of The U of M, Grayson eventually ended up still owing$400 in fees, and her credit rating had been adverselyaffected.
The University of Memphis policy on dropping classes is that astudent accepts responsibility for fees by registering. The studentwill not be automatically dropped from the class fornon-attendance. Instead, it is up to the student to cancel theregistration by dropping the class, prior to the first day ofclass, to keep from owing any fines and to receive 100 percentrefund on tuition for that class.
Anytime the class is dropped after the first day, refundsdwindle to 75 percent, then 25 percent, before finally no refund isavailable and a significant amount in fines has accrued.
The responsibility-for-dropped classes clause was not present inthe schedule of classes when she was a freshman at The Universityor when she attended graduate school in 1998, and by 2001, when shere-enrolled in school, the policy had changed, Grayson said.
Assistant Registrar Donna Van Canneyt said The University ofMemphis did indeed change its student responsibility policy tofollow in line with the other Tennessee Board of Regent schools.However, Van Canneyt said the policy change was first listed in thesummer 2000 schedule of classes.
"The policy was changed so students would no longer be deletedfrom classes for non-attendance," she said. "Students would receiveF's in classes for non-attendance and become responsible fortuition costs."
The policy was always present in the schedule of classes, butwhen it was changed to its current wording, the policy was moved tothe front of the schedule of classes to be more prominent, VanCanneyt added.
Grayson had not viewed a schedule of classes since the beginningof her graduate year in 1998, so there was no way she could haveknown The University had changed its policy, she said.
New students are now informed during orientation classes aboutthe danger of not properly withdrawing from pre-registered classes,and those reported by professors for non-attendance this semesterreceived an e-mail from the Registrar's Office emphasizing studentliability for fees and grades. Grayson said she wishes this was aluxury that had been afforded to her.
"They should have stressed the importance of un-registering,"said Grayson. "That information should have been on registrationforms, everything, to let students know that they will be charged aconsiderable amount if they don't drop classes properly."
For most students, fines that occur over the course of collegelife are all a part of just that -- college life. Althoughnon-payment of many of those fines can result in setbacks likegrades being withheld or inability to receive grade transcripts,most students go on to graduate and enter the job market.
For Grayson, non-payment of her fines has resulted in adisheartened view of institutions of higher learning after a SouthCarolina collection agency working on behalf of The Universitythreatened to take her to court if she didn't pay the more than$400 she owes The U of M.
"I dropped out because of this, and it discouraged me from goingback," said Grayson. "I feel The U of M stabbed me in the back andmessed up my chances to better myself."
Grayson called The U of M's penalty for dropped classes aCatch-22.
"They make their money off the people who can least afford topay," she said. "That's why we (students) go to school, because wedon't have money. We want to improve ourselves in order to makemoney."
