Every year, a committee of student leaders and representatives meet together to discuss student fees for the next academic year. For the 2018-19 school year, students enrolled at Southern Utah University were required to pay an additional $381.75 beyond tuition. While many pay no attention to the fees, it can be beneficial to know where the money is going.
The fees go to different areas of the university to contribute to the different departments that need the funding. Faculty from the departments submit their requests and multiple committees review the numbers. The numbers vary from year to year and there are numerous changes for the 2018-19 year. These fees are not finalized but will offer a guideline to next year’s fees.
Changes in Fees:
Athletics-$103 for 2017-18. $105 for 2018-19
Most notably, the Athletics fee allows any student of SUU to attend all home games for all 17 teams for free. This amount is $2 more than the 2018-19 cost to accomodate for upgrades to athletic facilities and programs.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)-$20 for 2017-18. $25.40 for 2018-19
This fee is increased by $5.40 from last year for the CAPS office to provide more students in need of counseling and other aid. Training for counselors is ongoing and receives finances from student fees
Library- $8
The Library Fee is newly introduced this year as the Gerald R. Sherratt Library is always seeking to improve the experience for students at SUU. With this money, the staff plans to keep the facility open for more hours along with various side projects that are still to come.
Fees without Changes from 2017-18:
Sharwan Smith Student Center-$146
Information Technology- $32
Student Center Activity-$19
SUMA-$15
Outdoor Recreation-$8
SUUSA- $10.75
Campus Recreation-$5
University Journal- $5.50
Community Engagement-$4.75
Music Department-$3.25
ID-$1.50
Theatre, Arts, and Dance- $4
Tutoring Center-$3
Fees that Need Further Clarification
Speech and Presentation Center- $3 with the condition that the program fee is removed from applicable students
This fee is also new to the listings as the office aims to create a better experience for those that take advantage of the department to help advance the education for all students. Their current proposal lacked specifics as to what the current fee associated with students who take a course in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences who currently pay a fee per credit.
Writing Center- $3 with the condition that the program fee is removed from applicable students
As with the Speech and Presentation Center, this new fee will need to have the program fee removed before the student fee will go into place. This money will also be used to create a better environment and outreach to more students
Civic Engagement (Leavitt Center) -Proposed an increase from $1 to $5
The large increase in money was of concern to the committee during the meeting. Though the center does a lot for the university, this is an increase from $10,000 to $50,000 and raised questions throughout the committee. Instead of voting on the measure, it will be held off until more information is available from a representative from the Leavitt Center to discuss their plans for this new amount of money.
Marching Band- Proposed fee of $3
If this fee is passed, it would represent the first fee for the marching band in 15 years. Questions arose of whether the money they currently receive from multiple departments was sufficient. The committee will postpone their vote on this matter until they have more information and will vote at the next meeting on January 23.
No fee has yet been finalized as there are multiple stages of approval to pass through. The Fees Recommendation Committee will meet again on January 23 to submit their final proposals.
Story by: Tomas D’Annella
tdanella73@gmail.com
Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash
