We currently do withhold particular services (transcripts letters
certificates etc.) from debtors until they agree a payment plan. I quite
favour the idea mooted in jest recently that we provide any information
to the student on red paper (difficult to photocopy) with the word
DEBTOR stamped across the entire page.
Nancy Richards
Manager ,Student Services
Thames Valley University
N201a
North Building
Ealing
London
W5 5RF
tel:0181-231-2721
fax:0181-231-2168
[log in to unmask]
On Mon, 31 Jan 2000 16:16:57 -0000 Liz Jenkinson
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>DMU is currently formulating a protocol which is likely to be on similar
>lines but might well include a requirement for a continuing student in
debt
>to seek debt counselling and agree a payment plan before they can
re-enrol.
>It is proposed that finalists will be informed of their award and
>classification (we say we have published the results when we've put
the list
>on the noticeboard) but will not receive official transcripts, certificates
>and will not be allowed to attend the ceremony. I wonder if this
embargo
>should/could extend to references?
>Liz
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Pauline Ensor [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>> Sent: Monday, January 31, 2000 4:08 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Withholding results from student debtors
>>
>>
>>
>> A view expressed here is that result includes classification so all we
can
>> legitimately do is not allow them to enrol in case of non-finalists and
to
>> stop the issue of the degree certificate in the case of finalists. I think
>> we accept that results will have to be given but there is no statement
as
>> to
>> how these results are given - it is possible that on the back of some
old
>> envelope is acceptable !!! We sghall give results to debtors but not
on
>> the
>> official stationery and in that way we shall not be withholding any
>> results.
>> We take and accept the risk that failures will probably not pay but so
be
>> it
>> but debtors will not be permitted to receive any official
documentation
>> either whilst they are in debt e.g. transcript, council tax forms.
>>
>> Pauline Ensor
>> Director, Student Administration
>>
>> At 15:20 31/01/2000 -0000, you wrote:
>> >Following the article in the Higher on 14 January about the effect of
new
>> >legislation on the ability of universities to withold examination
results
>> >from students who are in debt, we have been considering this
question and
>> I
>> >should be grateful if members of the list would let me have any
views or
>> >comments they may have on the following suggestion. Under the
Data
>> >Protection Act 1998 it will no longer, apparently, be permissible for
>> >universities to withhold examination results from students who are
in
>> debt
>> >as a lever to get them to pay. My suggestion, as a way of retaining
this
>> >sanction, would be to allow students to sit the examinations in the
>> normal
>> >way and to allow departments to mark the papers and enter the
marks into
>> the
>> >computer database. However, in the case of debtors, their results
would
>> not
>> >be considered by our Progression Boards or by our Award Boards.
This
>> would
>> >mean that in the case of debtors no decision would be taken about
>> >progression to the next level of study, nor any classification made
for
>> the
>> >award of a degree to final year students. If debtors subsequently
pay
>> their
>> >cases could then be referred to a Progression Board or an Award
Board at
>> a
>> >later date. At Swansea this would mean that final year students
dealt
>> with
>> >in this way would not qualify in time to attend the degree ceremony
with
>> >their cohort.
>> >
>> >Is this a feasible way around our present dilemma and would it be
legally
>> >acceptable?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Robert V Barnes,
>> >
>> >Director of Registry and Academic Registrar.
>> >
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