On Jan. 25, approximately 200 University of Florida students were turned away at campus recreation centers after the university’s registrar’s office incorrectly listed the students as ineligible for membership to the university RecSports center, according to University of Florida’s student-owned newspaper, The Independent Florida Alligator.
The RecSports coordinator for technology, assessment and membership services said the registrar’s office determines gym membership eligibility, and students who were not registered as full-time students or had not paid their tuition were therefore not eligible to exercise at the gym.
Problems arose when eligible students such as 20-year-old pre-nursing sophomore Barbara Cadet were incorrectly flagged as not eligible. Cadet, a full-time student, was allowed into the gym but first had to speak with center officials regarding her eligibility.
According to the newspaper, an employee informed Cadet that the computer system may have incorrectly processed her schedule changes or had not yet processed the changes, which made her a part-time student.
RecSports has fixed membership problems for 210 students as of Jan. 25, and students can once again access the gym.
Associate University Registrar Mary Ann Hagler said her office does not have a history of these errors in membership and she was unaware that they had occurred, the newspaper reported.