NMC recovers $.5M in payment dues

The implementation of stern collection policies at the Northern Marianas College is beginning to gain ground, according to the NMC Business Office, noting a remarkable improvement in students’ tuition payment habits.

Since the Board of Regents last year instigated moves to employ stricter collection efforts, the college has recouped roughly around $585,000 of outstanding student dues since Sept. 2000, out of the long overdue $2.8 million worth of tuition debts.

According to the Business Office, some $2.184 in receivables still need to be recovered.

“We really insisted that nobody be permitted to enroll unless they pay something. And this is having a positive effect on our collection efforts,” said the Business Office.

NMC claims it is not due to the lack of financial resources that students sometimes lag behind in tuition payments.

Based on observation, college officials assess that students are “physically irresponsible” to settle their pending accounts with the institution.

A typical student apparently signs promissory notes at the beginning of the semester and waits until the registration period of the next semester to even inquire about his or her account status.

“This time, we made sure that they better pay something because our past experiences tell us that even though they sign promissory notes, they have often failed to fulfill their promises,” said the college.

In November when NMC freshly-implemented its new tuition collection scheme, the college recovered a significant portion of the half a million amount it has recouped from Sept. until the present.

In December, the college collected some $134,000 of old student dues.

The Spring 2001 registration also provided students with opportunities to settle their pending financial liabilities to the college, said the Business Office.

In the latter part of 2000, BOR began implementing stricter tuition payment terms through revamped promissory notes in efforts to recover the $2.8 million that students owe.

The newly-restructured version of promissory notes lists an installment plan period that all dues be paid always before the preliminary, mid-term, and final exams are taken.

College officials view the latest debt agreement as a real collection tool that would recover past years’ and current semesters unpaid dues.