From: Judy Ralph (JRalph@otterbein.edu)
Date: Wed Oct 17 2001 - 17:38:14 EDT
I've never run across this particular scenerio and perhaps some of you
have, so I'm asking for your collective wisdom and advice. I just
received a Chapter 7 filing on a currently enrolled student. She is a
full-time, traditional age student (21 yrs. old), and for the past two
years, has been considered independent for financial aid purposes. This
was the result of an appeal to the Special Circumstances Committee,
which granted her an override to her dependency.
Our students register for the entire academic year in the Spring term of
the prior year. (We are quarter based.) This student has a small
balance due for this quarter, less than $400, which is primarily books
charged to her account. I know that while this Chapter 7 is in
progress, I cannot bill her or make any attempt to collect this current
balance due until she receives a discharge. Since tuition debts are
non-dischargeable, at the discharge, I can start the processes to bill
and collect this amount now due.
Here's the real issue: since she is enrolled for future terms, can I
legally bill her for those terms, and if not, can I cancel her future
registrations? Or would the Bankruptcy Court see that as an effort to
collect the prior debt? Along the same lines, can I cancel her abilty
to charge her books to her student account? Realistically, it could
take 6 months for the discharge to happen and that would mean that she
could remain here through all of 2001-02 if I cannot cancel her
registrations.
I thought I'd ask all of you bankruptcy gurus for your opinions before I
ask a rather expensive attorney specializing in bankruptcy for an
official opinion.
Thanks in advance,
Judy Ralph
Student Accounts Manager
Otterbein College
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