OCR Text |
Show THE THUNDERBIRD TUESDAY SUSC ;j, PAGE 3 1989 Tuition bills may go to installment plan BY NATALIE COOMBS A new tuition-paymeplan, currently being drafted by SUSC administrators, will allow eligible students to make tuition payments in installments. The plan, to be implemented spring quarter, is being viewed as a convenience for students currently enrolled, and it will also be studied for its impact on enrollment, said Michael D. Richards, vice president for college relations. students will find this tuition payment and as they try to meet the expenses of plan considerably attractive tuition and fees, Richards added. Mark Barton, director of admissions and records, said the new policy is being made possible by a donation to the college that will loans and make tuition allow students to take out short-terinstallments. payments in This program is based on the same principle as it is with other institutions, only its more personal because of our size, said Barton. Our interest is to be as personal as we can be while finding students with needs who will benefit from this program. Were excited because a donor was conscious of students needing help. The institution will look, at distributing funds from a students who want viewpoint sensitive to the needs of students who need to benefit as well, to come here and he said. According to Barton, preliminary plans for the program show that installment-paymen- t eligibility wont necessarily be based on financial need. Our plan is for equality, said Barton, and were d system, based on ability to leaning toward a repay. Although exact qualification standards have yet to be established, Barton said that students will apply to receive money and a commmittee will determine eligibility. It is a quarter-by-quarte- r, lend and pay-bac- k program. There will be a service or fund interest charge to processing which will offset the depletion of funds, he said. Rather than having stringent repayment guidelines, Barton said the programs repayment terms would be flexible. Since installment payment plans with mandatory repayment dates are difficult to enforce, we are looking at a program that will allow students to set their own payment plan as long as the money is paid by registration time at the end of the quarter, otherwise the student wont be allowed to register, said Barton. While the payment plan will not be implemented until spring quarter, changes in tuition deferment are taking effect immediately. In the past the Registrars Office has accepted student payment deferments and have kept students on class rolls, now the registrar is not accepting any deferments. All deferments must go through the financial aid office no exceptions, said Barton. TTie reason for this is were getting big enough that we cant control and follow deferments unless they go through a single office, said Rex Michie, director of financial aid. The SUSC staff, over the years, has tried to be very accommodating to student needs, now we need to have tighter control to keep some students from taking advantage at the disadvantage of others. The specific details arent finalized; however, deferment will be granted only through the financial aid office and only for the period of three weeks. The policy will be that students with a verifiable source of funds may apply for deferment of three weeks; students with a verifiable source of funds who must extend deadline may apply for a tuition payment beyond the three-wee- k loan and make their payments in installments, said Michie. ,, nt Non-reside- , ' , I . ' , ' '' , S' '4P' V?'"' in-sta- te nt m out-of-sta- wi : - 'i A A . , Vo tty' V : '' - -- . -! . i & z. 5 te ''V in-sta- te first-com- tuition-installme- e, K ' 4, V',y s!f 4 f ' X' " '' " ' 7' 7, ss ;; fyw , At&X'st At " ,"v x sH( I I , xy XX w - , s'XXX,rWwr - r X7 , &, ' zf'' ' X' , ' ' f V V f ' J'7' SI ,Z first-serve- n . v4 , A i i h-'--. s . . ' w v nt Our interest Students like Ranon Hulet, a junior biology major, play a large part in the operation of the SUSC Greenhouse, which provides plants and vegetation for campus offices and grounds as well as a site for practical educational experience. i oasis as Greenhouse serves A LTHOUGH WINTER CHILL HAS iLA fully arrived in Cedar City, summer JL continues as it does the SUSC Greenhouse. is to be as personal as we can be while finding students who will benefit from this program, says Admissions Director Mark Barton. The plants grown in the greenhouse are used BY TAMI COMPAGNO ' ' year-roun- d in Operated by SUSCs biology department, the greenhouse provides plants for the campus as well as a learning experience for students. During the winter months the greenhouse serves as an oasis, said A1 Tait, dean of SUSCs School of Science. Its filled with tropical plants, passion flowers and bougainvilla. The atmosphere is cheerful and warm, and lifts peoples spirits, he added. Tait shares the responsibility of maintaining the greenhouse along with student helpers. Students enrolled in Greenhouse Practicum experience in (HORT 305) gain first-han- d planting seeds, taking cuttings from mature plants, and watering and fertilizing properly. Students also have the opportunity to experiment with different planting techniques. The greenhouse at the present is at a low utility, because we dont have a greenhouse attendant. We lost him to the budget cut, said Tait. in various ways on campus. While some are used in lab experiments, others are used as . f decorations for SUSCs Convocation programs and other campus events. The plants also serve as subjects for art students and adornment in the campus offices. Additionally, Weve done some of the flower baskets for the Shakespearean Festival, said Tait. Also, the greenhouse offers shelter throughout the winter for plants brought in from the gardens. These are later used to landscape the campus in summer months. Some plants not used in these areas are sold to students at low prices. Revenues from these sales are returned to the greenhouse, Tait said. These funds are vital, he noted, since the operation receives no state financial support. Additional funding must come from the biology department. Student assistance is integral to the operation, said Tait. Its difficult to control the insect pests and keep the plants in healthy condition" without constant care, he said. We do what we can with student help. The greenhouse is currently low on plants to sell due to the lack of greenhouse assistance. There is a possibility of a plant sale in midwinter or spring, said Tait. |