Students and administrators gathered in the A.I. Thomas auditorium Tuesday to discuss certain fees increases expected to take effect in the fall.
The forum was a chance for President George Wright and the Vice President of Business Affairs Mary Lee Hodge to communicate with students and get their opinions.
The tuition and fee public hearing is something that is required by the Board of Regents every year. Hodge presided over Tuesday’s hearing and gave a basic rundown of what exactly will be affecting students financially. She was able to break down Wrights’ philosophy, the financial environment and designated tuition numbers which all correlate into the fee increases. Although there were many different fees discussed, the main fees that students questioned were the athletic fee and student health center fee.
“The fee increase I was most concerned about was the student health center fee,” senior biology major Lindsey Williams said. “I don’t think we have enough staff to support the students’ needs, so hopefully the fee increase will help with the funding of more staff.”
Hodge explained that because of the financial environment we’re in now, certain costs are increasing while revenue isn’t, which causes a gap.
The administrators said the main purpose for raising tuition and fees is to benefit the students for the future, while keeping the amount that is requested as low as possible.
Once the fee requests were brought up during the presentation, it was obvious that the athletic fee needed to be clarified the most along with what the university’s other resources are.
The money from the athletic fee, which would increase from $10 to $12.60 per semester, would go toward things such as new equipment, operating costs, scholarships and medical expenses. Many students feel that they shouldn’t have to pay, because the benefit would only go toward student athletes and staff. One student asked if the university explored all of its resources before taxing the students. Wright was able to explain that the state puts in a certain amount of money, as well as the university and the fee from the students. “I think that all the proposed fees are important because they affect my day to day life, and it’s vital that I know more about them,” said junior Paul Chaney.
Overall, the public hearing was a chance for students to take a stand and ask the president and administrators anything they wanted to know concerning these topics, while at the same time learning what the fee increases are for.
The main point that administrators wanted to get across was that every fee that is being increased is for the good of the university as well as the students.
Wright closed the hearing with some words of encouragement. “My situation was exactly like yours in college, and with hard work now and sacrifice, you can achieve whatever goal you want in life,” he said.