University of Idaho President Tim White announced Thursday a proposed 5.95 percent increase in dedicated student fees for 2008. The proposal will be brought before the State Board of Education in April.

The proposed increase of $125 for full-time undergraduate students will bring the cost of attending the university from $2,100 to $2,225 per semester. The proposal may be starting a trend of smaller increases in student fees. Last year, fees increased by 5.8 percent as compared to near-10 percent increases in the few years before.
Official recommendations of how student fees should be spent next year was determined by the student fee committee, and was sent to White for consideration on Wednesday.

White ultimately approved the committee’s recommendations, and will include them with his own recommendations to the Idaho State Board of Education.
The student fee committee is made up of four members of ASUI, two members of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, two members of the Student Bar Association and the Dean of Students.

The members of the committee make recommendations by considering the list of proposals at a number of weekly meetings. The committee considers each proposal one at a time at each meeting until a consensus can be made. If the recommendations are not considered unanimous within the committee, the committee members with the minority opinion may include a minority report in the final recommendation to the president.
Four ASUI proposals were recommended for funding, including 50 cents for the ASUI Senate, $3 for the Alternative Spring Break program, $3 for the Global Initiative program and $2 for the salaries of staff of ASUI, Student Media and the Outdoor Program.

Funding for Valley Transit was recommended at $3.
A $1.50 fee was recommended to fund the replacement of a university 12-passenger van. The allotted $1.50 could be rededicated to different student fees next year.

A $4 recommendation was allottedfor Student Health. Of the recommendation, $3 is proposed to go to operation costs of Student Health, while the remaining $1 would go toward alcohol education. The $1 recommendation would allow Student Health to hire a part-time graduate-level student, such as someone majoring in sociology or counseling, to work on alcohol education on campus.

A recommendation of $5 was allotted to university athletics.
“If athletic fees can increase, national media, retention, and enrollment, our cornerstone foundational issues, can be dealt with,” said Pele Peacock, a SBA member of the student fee committee.

Peacock said putting money into university athletics would provide financial support for the rest of the university.
“It’s all about buzz and perception,” she said. “You may not agree with that philosophy, but I definitely think that it’s true.”
ASUI Sen. Jimmy Fox, a member of the student fees committee, said recommending money for athletics also brings students with scholarship money to UI and adds to the amount of diversity on campus.

The student fee committee recommended two proposals be funded by matriculation fees instead of student fees. Members of the committee supported funding for the Vandal Access Safety Transit program and the Office of Career and Professional Planning, but the recommendation to White stated that they should be supported by something other than student fees.

White also added a matriculation fee of $7.50 to support need-based scholarships and financial accessibility for students.
The Student Grant Program was the only proposal to not receive a recommendation by the majority of the student fee committee.

The proposal for the grant program met opposition from members of ASUI, who argued the program did not have a long enough track record in place to be supported by student fees in 2008.
Members of the GPSA disagreed.

“The grant program allows the opportunity of undergrads to have research opportunities, and allows for the opportunity of grad students to work with undergrads,” said Luis Guerrero, a GPSA representative on the student fees committee.

White decided to include the $1 proposal in his recommendations to the state board.
A student fee open forum will be held at 4 p.m. March 27 in the Idaho Commons Whitewater Room. All are welcome to attend.

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