No more refunds for sky high aviation lab fees

Bradley Ferguson paid $16,000 in lab fees on top of his normal tuition this year. He’s a senior studying the most expensive degree Utah State University offers: the professional pilot program — so he’s used to paying high lab fees.

The Aviation Technology program costs $63,000 in lab fees — on top of tuition — over four years. Those fees cover the expensive cost of learning to fly, aircraft maintenance, upkeep and fuel for the planes. It costs about $70 for 30 minutes of flight time, and most aviation students graduate with 220 to 250 flight hours.

Ferguson said he’s only able to pay for the lab fees because he works 30 hours a week, he saved up money for college, his parents chip in and his wife works.

“We’ve been lucky to not take out any loans,” he said.

He also gets financial aid to help cover the costs. The financial aid funding that supplements his lab fees — along with most other professional pilot students — was in jeopardy until this semester.

The USU Aviation Technology program was out of compliance with Federal Financial Aid laws. Financial aid wouldn’t supplement aviation lab fees, or any university fees, if the program was out of compliance.

Last year, if a flight student had extra money in his account after a semester, the aviation program refunded the fees or forwarded that money to pay for help or lab fees the following semester.

Department head Bruce Miller said the aviation program had to be more accountable with the fees associated with its courses.

“As we’ve grown for accountability and funding, we needed to make sure that students fees met what they were being assessed for or associated with,” he said.

That policy changed this semester. According to the Federal Financial Aid rules, unused lab fees cannot go toward another class, even if there is leftover money.

Patti Kohler, director of the financial aid office, said the class fee policy is not unique to aviation.

“Class fees have to be assessed equally to every student,” she said. “We give financial aid to a standard class fee.”

The new lab fee policy requires students to pay up-front for the average amount of hours it takes a flight student to finish off the semester requirements. Some students are quick learners who finish the semester requirements in fewer flight hours, while others may take longer.  

Those who finish the requirements early and have extra flight money in their account are encouraged to fly off the extra money within two weeks of the end of the semester. After two weeks, the money goes to the university, Ferguson said.

“I don’t know if they have a big bank account or a Scrooge McDuck money bin where they put the money,” Ferguson said.

Miller said to get hired by an airline, which most aviation students do after college, students need about 1,000 hours of flight time.

“Additional experience in the plane is a positive,” he said.

On the other hand, students who don’t finish the semester requirements are required to pay extra lab fees to complete their requirements without the help of financial aid.

Many of the aviation students were pretty sour about the change, Ferguson said.

“There was a lot of harsh feelings toward the Chief Flight Instructor [Aaron Dyches],” Ferguson said. “That’s because he was the messenger for the news.”

Lab fees are set up with classes like chemistry and biology in mind, Ferguson said. When non-flight students don’t use $20 in lab fees, it’s “not a big deal.”

“But if you underfly $2,000 in lab fees it’s different,” he said. “It’s frustrating … If you’re a really good pilot and it takes you less time, you won’t get your money back.”

Ferguson said he’s concerned the fee change will rush those students who take more time to complete the flight requirements. Students “won’t have that leeway” to perfect their aviation skills.

“It does take away that ‘be-100-percent every time’ attitude,” he said.

As the semester progressed, aviation students were less irritated, Ferguson said. He still loves the aviation program, despite the lab fee change.

Ferguson said the issue comes down to complying with federal financial aid regulations, not the leaders of the program.

“As pilots, we’re all about rules and following the laws to the T,” he said. “This is just another regulation. It’s hard to be mad at a law.”

Kaylee Roholt, the aviation program adviser, said the program is still a great investment because Utah State University has one of the cheapest flight programs in the U.S.

“The cheap tuition makes flight fees worth it,” she said.

USU’s Aviation Technology program also offers six scholarships to help pay for lab fees.

—morgan.pratt.robinson@gmail.com

@morganprobinson