With stress levels about finances at an all-time high across campus, the University Registrar announced it will no longer automatically cancel class registrations for students who have unpaid tuition charges on their bursar’s account, a move they say will make things a bit easier for both students and faculty.

Instead of immediately dropping the students who have not paid their tuition, the University Registrar will now enroll them in a payment plan.

John Nametz, director of the Office of Student Financial Aid, said he has been waiting for this system since he began working there 20 years ago.

“”Class cancellations are evil. They create back-up with staff, not to mention hassle, worry and unnecessary stress for students,”” Nametz said. “”Now we are able to service students that really need it. We have time to do it now. I’m hyped, we are definitely making headway.””

Enrollment in the payment plan costs $75, but allows students to spread their tuition payments over three installments per semester.

“”Students are already in debt, why make it worse?”” Nametz said.

Interim university registrar Beth Acree believes the payment plan is a good idea for many reasons.

“”We are trying to help the students,”” Acree said. “”We are hoping to re-emphasize the responsibility for students to drop classes you don’t plan to take.””

Students are not the only ones who suffered during old the re-registering process. It consumed an enormous amount of administrative time.

Each semester, about 2,000 students still have unpaid charges prior to due date, Acree said.

When a student still has unpaid charges on their account, the Office of Registrar warns them that they will be dropped if they do not pay.

However, some students cannot make that payment simply because their loans have not been received.

About 73 percent of students receive funds through student account systems, including scholarships, loans and grants, Nametz said.

“”At the start of the Spring 2008 semester, 767 students still owed money. Some paid, but in the end 391 students were still dropped,”” Acree said.

Sommer Long, a psychology senior, was one of the many students who suffered in the past from cancellation of classes due to nonpayment.

Long’s student loan came in the day after her tuition payment was due. She was unable to pay and dropped from her classes.

“”It was horrible,”” Long said. “”I was dropped and needed to re-register through Webreg. Of course, I couldn’t get back into any of the classes and had to be placed on a waitlist. I got into classes in the end, but none that I wanted.””

The University Registrar is hoping the payment plan system will be the best solution to the problems of the past.

“”Certain people just stress about making the payments on time,”” Nametz said. “”We want to take the stress away. It’s a great thing when you see people doing something, moving forward.””