Fullerton College will reinstate their original “drop for nonpayment and unpaid balance” policy, in which students will be dropped from classes or withheld from enrolling in future semesters if students have an unpaid balance of over $100.

This policy, outlined in AP 5030 and AP 5035: Withholding of Student Records, was suspended for a period of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed families to pay off the debt when they could, easing the stress of maintaining an education during this period.

According to an email to FC staff from Interim President Monte Perez on Dec. 6, some students have “exploited loopholes” to avoid paying their bills. This has depleted aid funds used to help Fullerton College students in need.

To help ease students back into the policy, Fullerton College will only implement drop for non-payment for students that are paying non-resident tuition next semester. Certain students will be exempt from this change, however. “We will make every attempt, however, to filter out our undocumented (AB 540) students and Promise students from the list,” from Perez’s email.

Unpaid balance holds will be implemented for students by the start of next semester. This means that students are allowed to register for spring classes, but will not be allowed to register for any future upcoming semesters if they have an unpaid balance of over $100 with Fullerton College.

Full implementation of the drop for non-payment and unpaid balance policy will begin during the Summer 2023 semester.

This story has been edited for clarity.