After one term of the new DASH card system, student reaction remains mixed but the College said it has no plans to change the system.
Jeanette Montgomery DASH Program Administrator said there has been some student feedback but not a great deal.
"That would indicate that there is some acceptance of the program on campus," she said. "As we know change is always a little difficult.
Montogomery said she realized there had been some confusion among the students about the way the DASH card should be used.
"There were quite a few choices and confusion among some students about what the various plans are and what their function is," she said.
"The program is as is stands at the moment," she said. "No changes are planned for next term. None will take effect at all until the next fiscal year."
Associate Director of Administrative Services Bill Barr said large debts in a students' administrative account can prevent a student from registering for classes next term.
He said it has yet to be determined what the exact amount will be.
Barr added that only students in good standing with all their accounts with the College will graduate.
He estimates approximately 80 students are currently $100 in debt with their discretionary accounts and are no longer allowed to make transactions drawing from that portion of their DASH accounts.
Director of Financial Services Win Johnson agreed with Montgomery that there are still a few kinks in the DASH system.
"There is clearly some information that we have to got to get to students to at least make it easier for them to understand the system," he said.
Johnson said he is satisfied with the DASH card's implementation so far.
"It has, on the whole, accomplished at least in its first phase what we hoped it would," he said. "We wanted to separate miscellaneous charges from the basic term related fees."
Students and student organizations have had mixed reviews of the DASH Program.
Kimberly DiTomasso '97 said, "I feel that the main purpose of the DASH card is for the purpose for the College to obtain their payments earlier and it does not benefit the students at all. Dividing up the payments seems to be more difficult and confusing."
Jill McCammon '97, president of Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority, said the DASH system has made billing sisters' social dues more difficult.
"Now everyone is responsible for making sure they put money in their DASH account," she said. "Overall we haven't had problems with people not paying their dues."
President of Chi Gamma Epsilon Eric Newton '97 said the DASH card system was "much more of a pain" than the College billing used last year.
Newton said he is unsure if even one brother used the DASH card to pay his social dues.
"We basically had to go door to door in the fraternity to ask the to pay their social dues," he said. "Everyone ended up paying by personal check or by cash."
But Evan Walsh '99 said the DASH program "has not affected me. I haven't really done much interacting with it. I just deposited the money at the beginning of the term and then don't worry about it."
Montgomery said as a result of student inquiries, the College will set up a test site in one of the dormitory clusters, which will link washers and dryers to the Dash system.
