Editorial: Three Tips To Understand Student Fees Better

Student fees can be difficult to understand sometimes, so here are three tips to understand them better.

First, think of student fees as taxes. Walter P. May notes in his article ''The History of Student Governance in Higher Education” in College Student Affairs Journal that early in higher education, students who lived at school became dissatisfied with their curriculum. So, they pooled their money together to fund additional lectures that interested them. For example, they funded lectures on Roman history, astronomy and other topics; extracurricular lectures that enriched their education beyond the basic curriculum such as math and grammar. This organized money-pooling represents the beginning of both student government and student fees.

Today, the University collects student fees on student government’s behalf, like an employer collects your taxes on the federal government’s behalf. The fees are the result of the student body enacting a fee by student vote to fund services for its enrichment. So, whether it’s the Recreational Facility Fee or the Medical Services Fee, think of these fees like taxes that the student government collects on the student body’s behalf.

Second, remember (as you can probably tell) that student government is a democracy. Therefore, changes a student fee— whether an increase or decrease—require a student-wide vote.

Take the athletic fee, for example. In fall 2021, students rejected an increase to the mandatory athletics fee in a student wide vote by 43.85% to 56.15%. The vote hap- pened because as a democratic government, student government must gain student approval before it can impose new burdens upon the student population. Since it didn’t do so, then student government did not enact the proposed increase. Students who can remember that student government is a democracy will have a better understanding of how student fees work and of how they can participate in the democratic process.

Finally, to understand student fees, make sure to separate them in your mind from university fees. They aren’t the same. For example, student fees require a student vote, but university fees do not. Students pay both, but one is a fee student government imposes for cultural enrichment and special services. The other is a fee the University imposes for operational purposes.

Current student fees are the Student Service Fee, Intercollegiate Athletics Fee, Fine And Performing Arts Fee, Medical Services Fee, Recreational Facilities Fee, Student Union Fee and International Education Fee.

Some university fees are the Records Fee, Automated Services Fee, Drop Fee and the Parking Permit Fee. (Yes, the University can raise your permit fee without student permission!)

So remember, student fees require a student vote. University fees do not. Keep them separate for a good grasp of student fees.

Student fees can be difficult to understand sometimes, but here are three tips to help: think of student fees as taxes, recognize student government is a democracy and remember to separate university fees from student fees in your mind. Follow these steps, and you will have a better understanding of student fees.

@Jhescock12