Student fees up next year
At the Student Fee Board meeting on Wednesday night, two increases were passed for student body fees for the next school year.
These fees are figured on a student with 12 credits and are per semester.
The first is a $2.75 increase for the campus recreation fee. This will take it from its current $19.50 to $22.25. Director of Campus Recreation Kevin Kobe first proposed a $5 increase to cover department operating expenses, large equipment repair and replacement, two new employees, possible minimum wage and staff equity, and cost-of-living expenses. He also stressed that it is not just the Fieldhouse, but also club sports, intramurals, the Outdoor Recreation Center, the Utah Conservation Corps, and the HPER that are funded with this money. These departments also don’t receive any state funding, which makes students’ fees so important to the programs.
“We have a need that is not being met with the current fee,” Kobe said.
Members of the Student Fee Board said they felt the five-dollar increase was too high as some of the costs it would cover were simply projected expenses that had no sure backing. After discussion among the board and questions to Kobe about the exact areas the money would be spent in, the board passed the $2.75 increase. This amount was figured by the costs that would be necessary to cover only certain expenses. They also earmarked the projected amount for staff equity and cost-of-living increase, saying if the increase didn’t pass, the department would have to come back to the fee board and propose a different use of the money. It was passed on a 9-7 vote.
Electronic resources at the Merrill-Cazier Library will be added to due to a $5 increase of the library fee. This will raise it to $16. Betty Rozum, associate director for Technical Services, said while there are many areas that could be improved and they would like more money, if they could get just $3 more per student for electronic resources, it would be sufficient for the time.
Maure Smith, Graduate Studies vice president, said the library fee should be at least as high as campus recreation, as schooling and using the library are the main reasons students are at college. She motioned an increase to bring the total to as much as the current campus recreation. Other members disagreed with this large increase but decided upon a $5 increase. This increase was approved on a 15-1 vote. A recommendation was added to the motion that distance education students pay a $8.50 fee for their use of the library.
Director of Student Involvement Tiffany Evans said she felt the students on the fee board are well-educated, and no one could walk in and expect to simply get what they want without very valid backing.
“The Student Fee Board is a very important mechanism to keep intact the integrity of the student fees,” Evans said.
As the board is made of mainly students who themselves are paying the fees, it provides a valuable system of checks and balances to ensure the increases aren’t too high and will provide the students with necessary enhancements.
Chairman of the Board and Student Advocate Vice President Josh Schultz said these increases help to cover the cost of inflation, and students can take advantage of what they are paying by using the resources.
-albaugh@cc.usu.edu