Bureaucratic Injustices

So, as an Arizona resident who files the FAFSA dilligently every year, who receives aid from the university and who won't be continuing at The University of Arizona after spring 2008, I never would have dreamed that Proposition 300 would affect me. It never has in the past. Nobody from the university ever told me to think about it, turn anything in, do anything.

But then, I checked my Bursar's account this morning to see if the second group of fantastic textbook charges had been applied to my account so I could finally pay for them all at once--only to discover I suddenly owe $5,796.13. That's a big jump from the $96.50 I owed yesterday. I nearly had a stroke.

So I went to look at my transactions to see what the hell was so expensive.


OUT OF STATE TUITION. What?

And a second charge for in-state tuition that they kindly marked out to show I paid for it the first time--but the evidence is still there.

So I call the Bursar to see what's up. After 99 phone calls and 20 minutes of being on-hold, a friendly employee answers the phone. She is also confused about the extra charges in my account, and says all my "paperwork" is "complete." I assume that means they have proof I'm a resident (DUH!).

She directs me to the Office of Residency and Classification. After another 50 phone calls and leaving a message, I get a slightly-less friendly person on the phone. She can't figure it out either, but assumes I don't have my Prop 300 paperwork in. I told her nobody informs of this. "I know they don't, I'm sorry," she says, then directs me to visit the Registrar's office to fulfill my requirements.

So now I must trek to the Registrar's office and probably stand in line for 45 minutes JUST so I can hand someone my driver's license, bank card, concealed weapons permit and CatCard to prove that they've made a mistake.

The bureaucracy is mind boggling. The idiocy is mind blowing.