Tuition and Fees committee sends recommendations to Senate

After over five hours of meeting and deliberation Tuesday night, the Senate Committee on Tuition and Fees sent their recommendations to the full Senate body, after open discussion with various campus department representatives.

The fee increase recommendations are as follows:

University Recreation, $1.50; Student Media, $0.25; Student Health Services, $10; Union Activities Board (UAB), $0; Student Center Repairs and Renovations, $2.00; Student Center Programming, $7.25, which is split between $1.25 for the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) and $6 for Arts NC State and student programming; Student Center Operations, $2 for the Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA) and an increase of $3 for undergraduate students towards Campus Enterprises and $1.50 for graduate students.

In attendance were representatives from UAB, Student Center Programming, Operations, Repair and Renovations, as well as University Recreation, Student Media and Student Health.

UAB sought a fee increase of $.87 from its current fee of $19.63, in order to maintain the expenditures of the wide range of activities and programs concerned with student involvement and development. According to Justine Hollingshead, assistant vice chancellor, the goal is to keep the budget balanced for the foreseeable future, and not to actually fund any new programs.

In response to what would happen without a fee increase, Hollingshead said that a reduction in the amount and variety of student involvement programs would ensue. Hollingshead also expressed that campus events could get more costly.

“If we still meant to do the same number of programs, and [have] the same quality, caliber and level of programming, that money would have to come from somewhere,” Hollingshead said. “There would be a reduction in types of programs, numbers of programs, [and for] programs that cost money each individual [student] would pay more.”

A question was raised from the committee about UAB having some of the highest paid student staff on campus.

“I can tell you that with UAB, the expectations of student leaders as far leadership development, programming, [and] office hours, we were asking chairs to do more things that [required] a higher level of leadership,” Hollingshead said. “They also go through extensive training, far more training [compared to] many other student organizations.”

The committee voted 7-0-0 to recommend raising the UAB fee by $0.

Student Health representatives expressed that a fee increase would supplement the travel clinic options and make them easier for students studying abroad. It will also help mitigate the current surge in demand for counseling by offsetting longer wait-times.

Student Health plans on developing a facility at Wolf Ridge and Plaza Hall, which would allow the counseling services to expand out of their shared space. 

While Student Health proposed a fee increase of $15, the committee recommendation was an increase of $10, by a unanimous vote.

Tim Hogan, director of University Student Centers, stressed that a fee increase for the student center repairs and renovations would go a long way to uphold the quality and quantity of services that can be provided. It would also keep student worker wages and hours of operation intact.

Hogan described the numerous modifications to how repair and renovation services are conducted that could take place as a result of a failure to increase fees. Hogan also highlighted that in order to save money, the wages of student staff working at night would take a direct hit.   

“This year, we did not go that route,” Hogan said. “We did have a healthy enough surplus to cover this year. But, as I suggested, this year, without a [fee] increase, we’re going to reduce our surplus by $250,000 over the next couple of years.”    

The recommended Student Center Repair and Renovations fee increased by $2 on a 4-0-3 vote, meaning that three senators abstained from voting.

The fee recommendations will be heard by the Student Senate on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in Talley 4140.