No shots will mean no PARIS

The pain of getting booster shots will get a little worse next Monday, as students who fail to update their immunization records will be blocked from registering for spring classes. And juniors and seniors who have yet to declare a major will also be put on "hold" through the Penn Automated Registration Information System when advance registration begins. About 800 students – 300 undergraduates and 500 graduates students – have not met the University's health requirements, Immunization Coordinator Vernell Edwards said yesterday. Edwards said requirements for students include proof of immunity from mumps, measles and rubella. Students also must have tetanus shots, a tuberculosis skin test and evidence of a recent physical. Edwards and his staff have undertaken a major publicity campaign to educate delinquent students. "We've done a number of mailings," Edwards said. "We sent some in the summer, at the end of summer and a week ago." Registered letters will go out to those who are officially blocked from registering, he added. Edwards added that efforts have generally been successful, drawing in a consistent amount of students to rectify their immunization imbroglio. Still, he said, every year a number of students fail to listen to his office's queries. That's where the registration block comes into play. In the College, University Management Information Specialist Susan Quant said about 400 juniors and seniors have not yet declared a major. She attributed the large numbers to students who study abroad and others who simply forget to meet the deadline. College Dean Matthew Santirocco said yesterday that he hopes the registration block will motivate students to "walk into the College office and get some advising help." "In other words," Santirocco said, "we have a requirement that a student must declare a major at a certain time. If they don't declare a major, then they may not be able to graduate on time. "The quickest way we have of flagging them is with a hold," Santirocco said. Later next month, 4,000 students may be in jeopardy of losing registration privileges because of incomplete insurance registration, Insurance Administrator Mary Webster said. "We have conducted mailings and will soon have a telephone campaign," Webster said. Students who still fail to produce proof of insurance before the deadline will be blocked from registering.

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