I agree completely. Being enrolled is one thing but all paperwork should be complete before being accepted.
A signed EA is not a completed enrollment. That's like you buying a new car, you sign the documents to take the car home and then the bank says "no"...Is that your car? Same goes for students who sign an EA. Then go to FA and can't afford the payment or don't get the FA needed to further their education.
I consider the enrollment complete when the student shows up to the first day of school. So everything before that i.e. easing stresses about relocation, part time work, and filling out all FA are all part of what we do. The enrollment agreement is really just the beginning.
At my school, a student is not enrolled until he or she goes through the admissions interview, takes the assessment, passes the assesment, sets up a financial aid appointment, pays the reg. fee, then comes back to admissions and completes all the necessary paperwork as well as the enrollment agreement. We do not enroll any student until all these steps have been completed.
We should never consider someone complete until they graduate.
A lot of times schools consider an enrollment complete when the student shows up for the first day of class.
I would have to argee with you Jesse. A lot of school are this way. You can usually drop up until that first day of class.
I understand the frustration in having to wait to "count" the enrollment, but at our school we do wait because if FA doesn't go through, then the student has not shown a way to pay for their financial obligations to the school -- thus that enrollment you were "counting" on would fall through, which is even more frustrating. I hope this helps give you a different perspective.
I think the concept of a 7 day trial period is a great benefit for students, so they have the opportunity to see if this is the right fit for them, and so they don't feel pressure to stay in a situation they do not feel comfortable with.
1 week gives them ample time to address any issues they have, and to become comfortable in their new schoolastic environment.
I agree with you. enrollment is a process, and some people take longer to complete the process than others.
