For a $75 enrollment fee, starving students can find temporary relief from increased tuition fees with a new tuition installment plan.
The plan divides a semester's worth of fees into three separate, monthly payments, which will be will be due on August 25, September 25 and October 25 for fall 2003. Each bill will be about one-third of a student's total tuition bill for the semester.
The Arizona Board of Regents voted in March to increase undergraduate tuition by 44 percent. The new payment plan, which the Regents also approved this spring, is being offered to students who may not be eligible for the need-based aid.
Joanne Wamsley, associate director of financial services, said any student who does not own any past due charges can enroll in the plan, but full-time students who do not receive financial assistance will be the ones to benefit the most from paying in installments.
"The primary reason for offering a tuition installment plan was to provide students with an additional option for budgeting payment of their tuition in order to improve access to higher education," she added.
Students who are already registered for fall classes and who sign up for the installment plan before Aug. 5, which is the tuition payment deadline, will have their classes reserved, otherwise students will have to pay full tuition fees to hold classes.
NAU has offered its students tuition payment options for about three years already, and NAU Payment Plan Coordinator Charlotte Paddock said about 600 students take advantage of the service.
"The administration wanted to offer a payment plan three years ago because they saw other schools were offering it and they thought it would be a good thing for NAU to get into," Paddock added.
Wamsley reminded students that although the installment plan is available, it might not be the best option to pay for tuition.
Wamsley said, "Students are encouraged to work with the Student Financial Assistance Office to maximize financial assistance."
Reach the reporter at lynh.bui@asu.edu.
