UF began charging students and former students for transcripts Monday, and though university officials said things went smoothly, some students were still left grumbling.
Mary Ann Hagler, associate university registrar, said no students seemed surprised by the new charge, which is $6 for current students and $12 for former students. Hagler said the payment process was tested beforehand, so there were no technical problems either.
But sophomore Jeff Goetz said he had to visit the registrar's office twice before his transcript order went through successfully.
Goetz said when he visited the registrar's office at 4:10 p.m. the first time, he was told the payment system was unavailable.
Employees told him the system is unavailable every day from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., he said.
"I told them if it's not working, it should just be free like it used to," Goetz said. "If I'm paying a fee, it should be better. It should be easier."
It wasn't until almost 5 p.m. that he received his transcript, but he said he didn't mind paying.
However, Haley White, a history senior, said she disagrees with charging the fee.
"It seems like a lot for something that was originally free," White said.
The fee was implemented after UF's Board of Trustees, the university's highest governing body, discussed the issue in November and December.
Provost Janie Fouke said the fee would pay for producing the transcripts - a cost formerly covered by the general university budget.
With the new fee, general university funds could be put toward hiring faculty, Fouke said.
Student Body president Ryan Moseley said the Board of Trustees originally told Student Government the transcript fee would be $10, and it was renegotiated to $6.
Before this fee was approved, UF was the only public state university that didn't charge students for transcripts. Under Florida law, a university can charge up to $10 for transcripts.
