A new rule requiring ETSU students to either pay their tuition and fees or to confirm their registration by Jan. 5, three days before the start of the spring 2001 semester, came as a surprise to some.
Several students said they did not know about the new policy until they learned on the first day of school that their classes had been purged because of it.
Students who registered through Goldlink were informed that a new confirmation rule had been implemented, but some had to look elsewhere to find out the details.
“I registered in the fall so I had no idea about this new confirmation process,” said student Josh Archer. “I got a phone call about it the day before the deadline, otherwise I wouldn’t have known and I would have been purged with the rest of them.”
Students receiving full financial aid are now required to confirm their registration at ETSU before classes begin or have $100 tacked on to their tuition and fees.
In the past, ETSU held a place for those students until their financial aid was received while purging students without financial aid who had not paid their fees.
ETSU student Katie Stahl said, “I took last semester off so I didn’t have any idea about this confirmation rule. My balance of aid check had not come in by the first day of classes (this semester) and I got purged.
Javan Walker, a student, said, “The new rule would have messed me up too if I hadn’t noticed a note hanging in the nursing building. I asked somebody about it after I saw the note and they explained it to me. They should have given us better notice.”
The university released information about the new process last November. However, some students said they hadn’t heard about it.
A late fee of $100 was added to students’ fees if they did not comply with the confirmation rule and had to re-register.
This seemed a little harsh to some. “I think it is very unfair that I was fined $100 and I didn’t even know about the (confirmation) policy,” Stahl said.
“I definitely don’t think the penalty should’ve been $100. That’s too much for a new rule that nobody was really sure about,” Archer said.

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