The Indiana Supreme Court ruled last week that the university is allowed to hold graduates' transcripts due to outstanding fees not paid while at Ball State.
Ball State’s policy is to hold transcripts for students that owe $9,000 or more to the university.
In the recent court case, Jordan Irons had enrolled at Ball State in 2011, but withdrew in the midst of the spring semester. She planned to attend Indiana University Northwest and requested a transcript from Ball State.
Ball State held her transcript due to her debt exceeding $9,000. Irons could not enroll at IUN.
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ball State’s policy to withhold official college transcripts until owed money is paid in full.
Ball State Attorney Representative Jim Williams said they have a “common lien," the legal right to hold one’s property to ensure a satisfied debt or charge payment.
“Our view is the university has a common-law lien on a transcript for services provided," Williams said. "The analogy is if you took your car in to get it fixed, the mechanic has a lien on the car until the bill is paid. Technically, the mechanic can withhold the car until the bill is paid."
In an email from Joan Todd, interim associate vice president for marketing and communications, Bernie Hannon, vice president for business affairs and treasurer, said the total amount of unpaid student tuition and fees for the fiscal 2013-14 year was a little more than $10.7 million ($10,706,508). The amount written off by Ball State in uncollectible tuition/fees from accounts receivable was $811,568 for the same year.
Hannon said unpaid tuition and fees totaled $9.5 million for fiscal 2012-13 year. Hannon also said the university wrote off nearly $780,000 in tuition and fees the same year.
Hannon said the university tries to collect unpaid amounts for five years before writing any off.
The university carries the unpaid tuition and fees on financial records for several years while they try to work with students, until it “becomes appropriate” to write off the debt on the university’s statements.
In an email from Lisa Renze-Rhodes, senior media relations manager, Hannon said the university always budgets assuming that some tuition and fees will be uncollected. He also said in an email tuition would have been deposited into the school’s general fund, which affords the core operating expenses of the university, such as salaries and benefits, student scholarships, supplies and utilities.
He also said about 1.5 to 2 percent of tuition and fees are unpaid each year on average.
If every student paid their bills, it would likely mean lower tuition for all students, Hannon said.
The university has programs to help students who enroll to successfully graduate from the university, such as PACE and the Learning Center, he said.
“The university does try to be as flexible and helpful with students as possible, offering payment plans for students who cannot always make payments on time,” he said.
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