Mandatory student fees paid by every enrolled student have exploded during the past five years. \nThe growth reflects a steep decline in state funding and the struggle some campus organizations are facing to raise new sources of revenue. \nState appropriations, which once supported between 35 and 60 percent of some groups' budgets, now account for only about 5 to 10 percent. At the same time, mandatory student fees now support as much as 70 percent of some budgets. \nLast year, campus organizations such as the IU Auditorium, the Division of Recreational Sports, University Information Technology Services and Campus Child Care hit each student with nearly $400 in bills.\nThat total is set to rise again next year. \nA committee of IU students will release its recommendations this week for as many as 15 mandatory student fees for next year. The Committee for Fee Review heard requests in mid-February for student fee money totaling $425 per semester for every enrolled student. \nAll but three groups asked for fee increases to take effect next year. The largest request came from UITS, which asked the committee to approve a $50 increase in tech fees for graduate students. \nOther requests amounted to no more than nickels and dimes. Campus Child Care asked for a $.10 increase for all students. WIUS radio asked for a $.05 increase.\nThe major focus of the seven-member committee is ensuring students get something in return for their money, said Associate Dean of Students Damon Sims, who also serves as the committee's adviser.\n"They aren't eager to charge students more than is absolutely necessary," Sims said.\nThe Division of Recreational Sports and the Auditorium are two of the campus organizations that depend more than ever on mandatory student fees to fund their services. Both have asked for fee increases next year.
THE DIVISION OF \nRECREATIONAL SPORTS\nDirector of the Division of Recreational Sports Kathy Bayless asked the Committee for Fee Review on Feb. 5 to approve a fee increase of $5.74 per semester to support equipment replacement and field maintenance.\nFour years ago, RecSports received 35 percent of its funding from the state. That number has since dwindled to 11 percent. In the same period, student fee money as a percent of its budget rose from 27 to 70 percent. \nThe current mandatory fee a student pays to RecSports is $39.15 per semester. User fees for services such as swim lessons and personal trainers account for most of the remainder of the $3 million budget.\nBayless said the fee is critical because about two-thirds of the strength and conditioning equipment currently needs replacement, and intramural games had to be canceled because of poor field conditions. She added that the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation building has "deplorable environmental problems" that need to be fixed, and the organization has also discussed renovating the racquetball observation deck to create more activity area.\nThe IU Physical Plant used to do all building maintenance, but state funding cuts to the plant have forced individual groups to take on those extra costs.\n"They have told us 'if you want it done, do it yourself,'" Bayless said.
IU AUDITORIUM\nThe decline in state funding has been even steeper for the Auditorium. State appropriations dropped from 57 percent of its budget three years ago to less than 6 percent now. Students currently pay a $2.67 fee per semester to the Auditorium. Ticket sales account for 73 percent of the Auditorium's $3.5 million budget.\n"We've been told we have a total freeze on general fund support (from the state)," said Doug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium.\nLast year the Auditorium ran a deficit of about $20,000 and required campus transfers to bail it out. \nThe Auditorium is asking for a fee increase of $1.03 per student next semester. The money would go toward artists' fees and show production. It would also subsidize student ticket discounts of up to 50 percent.\nIn its request, the Auditorium said it actually needed twice that amount, but it respected the cap on fees the committee imposed. \nThe changing financial climate has forced both the Auditorium and the Recreational Sports Division to find creative ways to adapt. Increasingly, the two organizations are turning to corporate sponsorships as a lucrative way to earn additional revenue. \nThe IU Auditorium increased the value of its corporate sponsorships from less than $100,000 a few years ago to more than $800,000 this year. Partnerships with RecSports have grown by $300,000 in two years. \nBut even with the growth of corporate dollars, student fees remain an attractive source of stable revenues.
CREATING THE FINAL REPORT\nThe Committee comprises of seven students, none of whom belong to any of the organizations requesting money. Five of the students are undergraduates. The other two are graduate and doctoral representatives. \nThe committee hopes to release its final report by next week. But Sims said the process could go longer.\n"There is real a difference of opinion on the committee," Sims said. "They do wrestle with what is fair, and they very much take it seriously."\nThe recommendations are not final decisions. The proposal will be passed along a long chain of administrators. Dean of Students Richard McKaig gets the proposal first. He hands it to IUB Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Lois, who gives it to President Adam Herbert who gives it to the IU board of trustees. Any administrators can make changes to the proposal, but only the trustees will have the final say.\n"It's entirely possible their recommendations are not going to be accepted in whole up the line," Sims said. \nThe committee instructed the groups not to ask for increases to their existing fee levels of more than 4 percent, which is the level former Gov. Joe Kernan set in an effort to keep higher education affordable. Several groups, however, made requests above that cap. \n"The committee doesn't really want to go beyond 4 percent," Sims said. \nHe said the committee members will be active in advocating the reasons behind their proposals and why they discounted other options.\n"They want a chance to express themselves to the trustees," Sims said. "I think that's a reasonable thing."\n-- Contact General Assignments Editor Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
