Student fee board votes on new fees for the upcoming school year
The Utah State University student fee board voted to pass a fee increase for the Aggie Recreation Center and a computer fee decrease on Wednesday, Jan. 27 in the Taggart Student Center Ballroom.
This meeting came a week after the fee changes were proposed to the board. Many members of the board attended in person, with some members connecting through Zoom.
Vice President for Student Affairs James Morales said the executive committee — made up of USU President Noelle Cockett, college deans and others — had no questions, comments or input regarding the $6.50 ARC fee increase.
“I gave them time to give feedback and there was none,” Morales said. “They understood the rationale behind that increase.”
The $6.50 increase will be used to cover any unexpected expenses or replacements the ARC could incur in years to come.
Morales said the committee also supported the $1.60 technology fee decrease.
Several of the student senators expressed their support for the $6.50 fee increase, but some were not in support.
Engineering Senator Cooper Karras
Engineering Senator Cooper Karras proposed reducing the fee to $6.00 flat, and asking the ARC to come up with the other 50 cents by being more efficient.
Some board members agreed with Karras, saying the ARC should explore other ways of getting funding.
USU Student Affairs President Sami Ahmed explained that the $6.50 increase was already $3 less than what was originally proposed and opposed the $6.00.
“The extra amount needs to be significant enough that expenses will be covered so the ARC won’t come back and ask for more funding in the future,” Ahmed said.
The vote on Karras’ proposal of a $6.00 ARC fee increase failed, with 11 votes in support.
The vote on the original $6.50 ARC fee increase passed.
The board then voted on and passed the $1.60 technology fee decrease, which comes from removing some computers from the Old Main computer lab since the lab is not being utilized.
Executive Vice President Lucas Stevens said a letter would be drafted summarizing the process and outcome of the meeting and presented to the executive council for final decisions.
At the start of the meeting, Ahmed said the Utah System of Higher Education is looking at changing the way fees are constituted.
“They asked each institution to look at current fees to make college more affordable and look at fees and scrutinize them more,” Ahmed said. “In the next year or so expect to see policy changes with fees, like reviewing fees every five years to remember the fee’s history and why it’s being collected. We will also be looking at what students need and what fees can be included with tuition.”