Fees used incorrectly
The Associated Students of Utah State University and Administrative Services are joining forces to sort out summer-student-fee distributions set up 30 years ago.
Currently, during the summer, students pay student fees that go into a fund called the Summer Account, Steve Palmer, ASUSU president said. The problem with this is students believe their student fees are going to support activities and athletics as the student fees state, but very little of the money actually goes into activities or athletics for the summer terms, he said.
However, Gary Chambers, assistant vice president for student life, said in a recent ASUSU Executive Council meeting, “From the beginning, the Summer Account has been a discretionary account by the administration assigned to that account.”
Pat Terrell, vice president for Student Services, said the reason the Summer Account has been set up this way is because during the summer there isn’t enough athletics or student activities taking place for the fee to go to those areas.
Chambers said during the summer, student fees “were not established as activity and athletic fees to begin with and only part of the money goes to those areas during the summer because there is a need for it.”
Palmer said the issue here is it is against policy to use student fees to support areas that can be state-funded, which summer student fees have been contributing to.
According to the USU Student Fee Policy, “Students should pay fees to support facilities, programs and/or activities they desire. Student fees should not generally be used for programs or services that can be supported by state or auxiliary funds.”
However, Palmer also said he recognized the current use of summer student fees as mostly being used correctly but believes the student fees should be renamed to reflect their true purpose.
Kristen Stokes, Family Life senator, said in a recent Executive Council meeting, “I don’t think the money is being used frivolously, but it should echo exactly what it’s called,” and suggested summer student activities and athletic fees be called “Student Support Fees.”
Palmer, Chambers and Terrell all said the way the fund was set up and the controversy currently surrounding it is to no one’s blame in the current administration or ASUSU.
Terrell said, “the establishment of the account was made even before [Chambers] was here,” and he’s been here for more than 23 years.
Palmer said, “Thirty years ago I guess it made sense.
“[The administration] has been more than cooperative in coming up with a solution,” he said. “We are all in this together.”
Palmer said the reason the Summer Account is just now being addressed is “students have never questioned it. It just sort of came up.”
He said, “It’s not because we’re trying to hide it, [students] have simply forgotten its purpose.”
Palmer said the reason it is necessary to rename or alter the Summer Account made up of summer student activity and athletic fees is because of the $24.70 students pay in the activities fee and the $40.50 students pay in athletic fees, totaling to about $218,000 last summer, and only a fraction of the money actually went to those areas.
Terrell said most of the money goes to help many support services directly benefiting students. For example, some of the money goes toward ASUSU, or building new facilities for student use such as currently renovating the Taggart Student Center. And some of the money is used to pay the salary for new advisers to cheerleaders or in athletics.
However, Palmer said he does not believe student fees from the Summer Account should pay for salaries.
Nollie Haws, vice president for Public Relations, said, “Student fees should go directly to benefit students and not staff salaries.”
Yet, Terrell said the money used from the Summer Account to pay for the salaries of new advisers does directly help students because the advisers provide the students a needed service.
Palmer said the solution would never be to eliminate the summer student fees.
He said, “You would have to charge people to go to the library or charge for passes to the HPER Building and you would have to charge full price for tickets to athletic events.”
Terrell said with the way the Summer Account is currently set up, “We feel we have been able to use this money to support students in a way we would have not been able to without the fees.”
Terrell said the Student Fee Board would meet to discuss this issue further and make recommendations for a solution.