| Refund requested |
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| Written by Erin Harty - Argonaut | ||||||
| Monday, 02 November 2009 | ||||||
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When a person rents an apartment or a car they are required to pay a
deposit. This money is returned to you in part or as a whole when you
are done with said car or apartment. When a senior at the University of
Idaho is preparing to graduate, they must also pay a sort of deposit —
the graduation fee, which is $25. This fee is required whether you are
walking on commencement day or just getting your diploma. Unlike a key
deposit at a hotel, you don’t get the $25 refunded — in fact, you also
have to buy a cap and gown. Nowhere does it say the cap and gowns are
required, but you’d look a little out of place without it. Twenty-five
dollars doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but after all the other
money a student has spent, it is not exactly the cherry on top.
If a student graduating in May has attended UI since their freshman year, they have given the university a substantial amount of money, beginning before they even get accepted, with a $40 application fee — also non-refundable. While UI is a very affordable school compared to others, to a young person, this amount is still substantial. Accounting for the changes in fees over the last four years, a student will have spent approximately $18,174 in fees, or tuition, as other universities call it. Add student insurance onto that, and it is approximately $23,547. Add to that a conservative amount for the price of required textbooks, and it goes up somewhere around $26,500. Keeping in mind that quite a few freshmen live in the residence halls their first year, add one year’s housing and meal plans to that number for $33,700. This number seems reasonable, cheap even, but does not include other costs incurred by the student like the other three years of living expenses, lab fees, clothing and other items. So you have paid over $33,700 to the University of Idaho, taken all the classes required to graduate (and some you didn’t need), studied hard, got good grades and are finally going to graduate. You get online or go into the office to fill out your paperwork and they ask you for $25. To turn in your paperwork, to even think about getting that diploma, you have to pay up. After all your hard work and the money you have had to beg and borrow to afford to get to this point, the university wants you to pay for the privilege of getting that piece of paper. Granted, it probably comes in a faux leather case, maybe even lined with velveteen and ribbon, but $25? Haven’t students already contributed enough to the university coffers? I understand the university is in a budget crunch and the powers that be are trying to bring in more money and spend less, but after four years and all the thousands of dollars students contribute, $25 is just rubbing salt in a wound. Perhaps this fee should be refundable. After students have begrudgingly shelled out the $25, just think what a nice surprise it would be to walk off the commencement stage, open your diploma to make sure it’s really there and find a check for $25. Send letters to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  Add as favorites (17) | Views: 454
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