CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE : 900 Were Behind on Dorm Rent

Nine hundred students who live in dorms at Cal State Northridge owed $1.4 million in outstanding rental fees at the beginning of the spring semester, and the former university housing director failed to inform top administrators about the debt, university officials said.

“I am really appalled at the size of the deficiencies,” said Edmund T. Peckham, vice president of student affairs, under whose jurisdiction university housing falls.

Peckham said Diana Gruendler, former director of housing, had led him to believe that things were running smoothly at housing. It was not until CSUN administrators began to look into the details of the budget after Gruendler went on leave in December that they became fully aware of the financial predicament, Peckham said.

“The fact is, the gravity of the situation was not brought to my attention at all by Diana Gruendler,” he said.

Gruendler, who resigned earlier this semester, could not be reached for comment.

“When I came here in January, there were a lot of collections outstanding,” said Jerome Green, acting director of housing at CSUN, where 2,000 of the 31,000 students live in dorms.

Green said 60% of the rental defaults could be attributed to financial aid students.

Apparently under Gruendler’s administration, it was assumed that once these students received their aid, they would pay their rent, Green said. Unfortunately, he said, that was not the case and many students acquired debts far beyond what they could afford.

Presently, 450 students are in default, but Green said measures have been taken, including hiring a collections officer, to remedy the situation.

Peckham said he has also assigned another university official to work with housing in collecting the fees. “Efforts should have been made earlier,” he said.

Since January, 665 pay or quit notices have been issued to defaulting students and 2% to 3% of those students have moved out, Green said. Payment schedules have been established for other students who want to catch up in their rent payments, and notices have been sent to any who were behind on their rent, but not necessarily in default, Green said.

Another payment request was sent to delinquent residents before spring break and, “after that wave of response, we expect 350 to either pay or quit,” Green said. He said he anticipates having to evict 50 to 60 students.

Students who refuse to pay will have their academic records frozen, liens will be taken out against their income tax returns and credit agencies will be notified, Green said.

Life at a university is a microcosm of the real world, Green said. “You can’t allow anyone in the day-to-day world to accumulate debt without calling it to their attention.”