More than 590 Kansas students were allowed to defer the payment of college tuition and fees, because they came from counties battered by storms and floods last spring and summer, the Kansas Board of Regents announced today.The students were allowed to pay their tuition late without penalties. Individual payment plans were created for each student. In total, 37 Kansas University students took advantage of the program.”Providing payment flexibility options for these students so that they could attend to immediate community and family concerns was an important priority following this past summer’s natural disasters,” Regents chairwoman Christine Downey-Schmidt said in a statement.Totals for other universities across the state were as follows:Emporia State: 9 students Fort Hays State: 0 students Kansas State: 180 students Pittsburg State: 211 students Wichita State: 155 studentsAll told, 592 students were able to defer payment of their tuition.