COLUMN: Student Fee Board to vote on proposed fee increases

Casey Saxton, USU/SA public relations

Members of the University Student Fee Board will continue to deliberate on proposed fee increases on Wednesday night and will likely make its final recommendation to President Stan Albrecht regarding the proposals. The board has heard presentations from five campus entities: the Athletics Department, Campus Recreation Department, Student Health and Wellness Center, Parking and Transportation Services and the Utah Statesman.

The largest request is coming from the Athletics Department, which is asking for a $6.47 – per person, per semester – increase in their existing fee. The board was told the fee will go toward general operating costs of the department and potentially toward increased marketing initiatives that will be directed toward students.

Campus Recreation is requesting a $5 fee increase – per semester, per person – for a wide variety of purposes. It would like to hire a new assistant director for facility operations, an IT systems network specialist, two graduate assistants for injury prevention and care, and it would like to increase the hours of operation at the Fieldhouse and HPER.

The SHWC is asking for a $1.50 increase to fund a new doctor for the center. According to Jim Davis, the center’s administrator, the market price for doctors has increased and an increase in salary is needed to attract and retain a second physician.

Parking and Transportation Services is requesting a $1 increase to extend the Aggie Shuttle hours of operation to 9:30 p.m. According to James Nye, the department administrator, students have requested increased operation hours for the shuttle.

The Utah Statesman is requesting at $1.50 increase to fund an additional advisor. Its current advisor also advises Aggie Radio and the USU/SA public relations and marketing office. Depending on the applicants, the new advisor would focus on the Statesman editorial operations or on digital development and advertising sales and collection.

The USFB will deliberate on the necessity and importance of the fee increases in its meeting on Wednesday and are seeking student input. The board has the option of only recommending a partial increase, a full increase or no increase. Last week the board chose to vote by secret ballot with the hope that members will vote based on how they feel to avoid being influenced by other members of the board.

Students with comments about the proposed fee increases should join the USFB Facebook group entitled “Student Fee Opinions USU 2013″ or should reach out to any USU/SA officer. Specific questions about any of the fees can be directed to the USFB chair, Emily Esplin, at emily.esplin@aggiemail.usu.edu.

– Casey Saxton, a business administration major, serves as the Public Relations and Marketing director for the USU Student Association. Casey can be reached at ususa.pr@usu.edu or in TSC 332A. Follow Casey on Twitter at @caseysaxton.