Institutional Fee Implemented
Elise Maloney
Issue date: 1/12/10 Section: News
Another mandatory fee will now cause students to dig deeper into already dwindling pockets.
According to Dan Whitfield, vice president of business operations, the new Institutional Fee, which was put in place for the spring 2010 semester, was part of the Board of Regents plan to deal with current state budget cuts. Last year, fiscal year 2009, the Board of Regents was asked to submit plans to make a 6 percent, 8 percent or 10 percent cut in budgets, depending on university size.
Little more than two-thirds cost to run a university came from state procreated funds and only about one-third came from students' tuition, said Whitfield. This previous plan is now shifting, due to the recession and a decrease in the state budget.
"Unfortunately, as you hear in the news and read in the papers, the economy has not improved," said Whitfield. "State revenue collections are actually worse. Last month there were still double-digit declines."
According to Whitfield, the first eight percent that was cut from the universities budgets, and faculty and staff health care in 2009, led the Board of Regents to install a mandatory fee of $75 for students. For the fiscal year 2010, further cuts were made, and although the Board of Regents worked to decrease costs, the reductions hit eight percent. After this, the board was forced to look to the students, and increase their $75 fee to $150.
"When (the board increased the fee) they, sensitive to the perceptions and concern about fees, put a moratorium on any other increases through (the fiscal year) 2012," Whitfield said. "So they are trying to keep a cap on other things…If (a university) had a project, like our Student Center project, or a project that was funded by a fee, those could go on. To just go out and ask for a student activity fee increase or a parking fee increase, those things were not to be allowed. However, they did give the schools some flexibility"
According to the Board of Regents, if a university needs funding in additional areas, the specific group could go before the student government and ask permission to allocate a portion of the $150 for something else.
According to Dan Whitfield, vice president of business operations, the new Institutional Fee, which was put in place for the spring 2010 semester, was part of the Board of Regents plan to deal with current state budget cuts. Last year, fiscal year 2009, the Board of Regents was asked to submit plans to make a 6 percent, 8 percent or 10 percent cut in budgets, depending on university size.
Little more than two-thirds cost to run a university came from state procreated funds and only about one-third came from students' tuition, said Whitfield. This previous plan is now shifting, due to the recession and a decrease in the state budget.
"Unfortunately, as you hear in the news and read in the papers, the economy has not improved," said Whitfield. "State revenue collections are actually worse. Last month there were still double-digit declines."
According to Whitfield, the first eight percent that was cut from the universities budgets, and faculty and staff health care in 2009, led the Board of Regents to install a mandatory fee of $75 for students. For the fiscal year 2010, further cuts were made, and although the Board of Regents worked to decrease costs, the reductions hit eight percent. After this, the board was forced to look to the students, and increase their $75 fee to $150.
"When (the board increased the fee) they, sensitive to the perceptions and concern about fees, put a moratorium on any other increases through (the fiscal year) 2012," Whitfield said. "So they are trying to keep a cap on other things…If (a university) had a project, like our Student Center project, or a project that was funded by a fee, those could go on. To just go out and ask for a student activity fee increase or a parking fee increase, those things were not to be allowed. However, they did give the schools some flexibility"
According to the Board of Regents, if a university needs funding in additional areas, the specific group could go before the student government and ask permission to allocate a portion of the $150 for something else.