In the spirit of last year's Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, Mike Cane decided to pledge money to support the Four Diamonds Fund. So when a friend came to him and asked him to make a pledge, he was ready to pull the money right out of his pocket.

But his friend told him to hold onto the money. Cane (sophomore-business management) would be billed in the mail for it later -- he was never billed for that $5 pledge.

"I kind of forgot about it," he said.

This year, those students who make pledges for the marathon will have a better chance of getting their bill -- thanks to the Office of Business Services.

James Lange, 1994 financial chairman for the marathon, said last year 35,000 pledges were mailed, but people such as Cane were not alone.

"A lot of the bills didn't go out, and if they did they didn't get out until May or June and already that was too late, everyone was home," he said. "The growth of pledges in the last two years was double. We didn't expect that to happen."

More pledges require more fingers to type, so the committee hired temporary employees to work eight-hour shifts typing in the information from pledge books.

Business services -- better known to students as the people who print and send their tuition bills and semester grade reports home -- hopes to start printing the bills by next Friday -- just five days after the marathon, said Robert Hendershot, manager of printing services.

After all of the bills are printed, they are sent to mailing services where a machine will mechanically insert the bills, said Frank Sinclair, manager of mailing services. He hasn't been told an approximate number, but still expects it to take three or four days.

"I know in the past, it has been very time-consuming," he said.

Lange said the new billing system is not the only change. Last year, pledges were taken on sheets of paper. This year, business services printed pledge books. This is the first year donators got a receipt.

Mara Becker, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, 2 Ritner, said the new pledge books are professional.

"I think that they are a good idea," she said. "They give an explanation, and you also get a receipt."

All bills should arrive by spring break. And for those who ignore or forget about the first bill, Hendershot said reminder notices will be mailed.