Why Enrollment Cancellation Benefits Students

Today’s topic is the positive impact on students of enrollment cancellation.

In last week’s collegewide office hour, I shared the table below about how NOVA’s re-design and re-implementation of enrollment cancellation beginning in 2023 led to a dramatic decrease in the number of students sent to collections and/or the Attorney General’s Office.

During and after my Zoom office hour, I have heard from faculty and staff who were:

1. not aware of this issue;
2. not aware that VCCS policy prevented students with bad debt of $500 or more from re-enrolling in their current institution or any other VCCS college; and
3. not aware that Virginia law requires colleges, as public institutions, to send accounts receivable to collections and/or the Attorney General’s office (for debts of $3000 or more). In fact, the Virginia Debt Collections Act calls on public institutions to “aggressively collect all accounts receivable.”

It is important to note that while the Act allows colleges as public institutions to “write off” accounts receivable after an extended period of collections, this debt remains on the student’s record, and if the debt is $500 or more, the student remains ineligible to return to a VCCS college. In other words, they walk away with a negative credit history and no opportunity to return to college until that debt is settled.

For a deeper dive into this issue, you may wish to read the 2022 report from the Secretary of Education to the Virginia General Assembly. In that report, data from across the Commonwealth demonstrates that students referred to debt collections are disproportionately African-American/Black and Hispanic, Pell Eligible and 25 years old and above. This data should give us pause regarding the impact of our past practices: providing equitable access to affordable and exceptional higher education and workforce programs is at the heart of our mission. It is a reminder that sometimes the ways in which we believe we are helping students may have unforeseen negative consquences–often with lasting impact. Enrollment cancellation impacts students who have not paid for their classes and have no demonstrable ability to pay: they have not been awarded federal, state, or VA aid; they have no third party payer on record (e.g., an employer); they have not signed up for a payment plan. As our own data shows, adding students back into classes when they cannot pay tuition does not help them.

By implementing sound practices grounded in such data, we support our students in doing more than simply enrolling; we support their dreams of earning college degrees. NOVA’s enrollment cancellation process is one part of a bigger picture: it keeps students from accruing bad debt that will follow them in perpetuity and prevent them from advancing in college. By balancing enrollment cancellation with robust, accessible payment plans; comprehensive financial aid and wrap-around services; and advising and guidance, NOVA is putting our students at the center of our onboarding process so that—for more students every year—the walk that begins at the front door of our campuses can lead to the stage at commencement.

Anne