On Mar. 15, the office of Peter Baigent, Ed.D, Vice President of Student Affairs and Associate Provost for enrollment and retention management announced the comprehensive fee increases proposed for the 2007-08 academic year to the general student body.
Among the increases to mandatory student fees include changes to the athletic, student health, technology and transportation fees. According to the notification, these fee increases are necessary to accommodate planned benefits for students such as more funding for the intercollegiate sports program, increasing the number of pharmaceuticals and quality of care offered to students, and improvements to campus busing and parking lot conditions.
The reasons cited for these mandatory fee increases, however, include the rising costs of critical materials such as fuel, software, healthcare supplies, as well as the maintenance of facilities. The total proposed increase in comprehensive fees amounts to $64.50 for all undergraduate students. Only undergraduate students are subject to the rise in the athletic fee.
These fee increases are set, approximately, by the annual Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) of 5%. HEPI is similar to a consumer price index in that it reflects the changes in cost of a given set of items deemed necessary to college operations. These comprehensive fee increases are also independent of tuition costs, which will be maintained at the current level for the coming academic year. Continuing coverage by the Statesman will follow.
