University of Idaho President Chuck Staben has approved a proposed 4.5 percent increase to the fiscal year 2017 undergraduate resident tuition and fees, including a 2 percent increase to the dedicated student activity fee.
According to a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the proposal will be presented to the UI community April 6, and the final presentation to the State Board of Education will be held April 13-14 on the UI campus.
Staben said the central question in the decision-making process was how to balance the financial burden placed on students with garnering the resources needed to maintain an excellent university.
“We try to be conservative in what we are trying to fund,” Staben said. “In the tuition and fee process, we took a lot of guidance this year from what the students feel important.”
ASUI President Max Cowan, spokesperson for the Dedicated Student Activity Fee Committee, said the recommendation they presented to Staben was largely based on a student survey sent out last month.
Cowan said the survey, which got over 800 responses, found students were particularly concerned with two areas – the portion of their funds allocated to Intercollegiate Athletics and the perceived lack of accountability with how their fees are spent.
The committee”s response to this was a $12.42 reallocation within the dedicated student activity fee from Intercollegiate Athletics to Academic Support and Access Programs.
Staben said this shift will continue to benefit student athletes while putting Vandal Academic Support Services, currently offered through the Athletics Department, under the umbrella of Tutoring and College Success, and that while the Athletic Department has voiced legitimate concerns, he is confident the Provost”s office will continue to manage the program effectively.
The Athletic Department could not be reached for comment.
“Our student athletes bring so much to our school,” Cowan said. “Our student athletes have been recognized for their academic accomplishments, they”re incredibly smart, hardworking, dedicated, and bringing those areas together brings us together for the academic mission of the institution.”
Also included in the dedicated student activity fee is a $5.20 increase for Change in Employee Compensation, a $5 increase to ASUI, the Graduate and Professional Student Association and the Student Bar Association, a $2 increase to the LGBTQA Office and a $0.16 increase to cover a crisis phone line through the Counseling and Testing Center.
Included in the Facility Fee, which is proposed to increase 3.8 percent, is a $15 per semester cost Staben hopes will go toward the funding of an arena near the Kibbie Dome where the Idaho Fan Zone stood last fall.
Cowan said such a space would be able to host basketball and volleyball games, as well as conventions and similar events.
Staben said students have been supportive of the possibility of such a project, but its future depends on whether additional funding sources can be identified.
Staben said he is always optimistic when approaching the State Board of Education with tuition and fee proposals, but more than anything he”s happy to see students engaged and curious about where their tuition and fee dollars go, and hopes this is a culture that will continue on the UI campus.
“Students have every right to know where their money is going, but should also have the confidence we are working to make good choices,” Staben said. “I”m very pleased to have worked with student government on some of those choices.”
Hannah Shirley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @itshannah7