Are University Fees Out of Control?

[member 5645]

University costs...

So I signed up for next semester - just 14 hours.

Tuition was $13xx
Final bill was $19xx!

Yes, that's right - 600 dollars in "fees".

Among those fees, a $112 LIBRARY FEE! For a library I will never use, and if I did it would literally be cheaper for me to buy some used books off amazon, than to pay their fee.

Then there is a $148 "Technology service fee"...apparently, according to the lady on the phone, for "the computers we keep the student records in".

It continues on and on. 600 bucks! almost 50% increase on the original tuition price! I only have one lab class, and that fee only makes up 30 bucks of the entire price.
I was speaking to a friend of mine (his dad is a professor at the University), and he explained that during summer sessions that are off campus, the students have to pay all of these fees as well - even though they will never have a chance to use the services and/or the services aren't available.
Apparently there is some dissention (sp?) among the professor ranks about the waste of money. It seems much is being pumped into sports (at a school NOT known for it's sports teams).

Oh how I wish I had the option of a private school! Subsidizing students to study abroad (when I myself cannot afford the money and/or time to do such a thing) for me to go to the regular local campus makes me sick!

Anyone else ever wonder what things would be like if there was some more accountability with University expenditures? I can only imagine what kinds of fees are being charged at the state schools where tuition is double and triple my little university!

 

[aeroegnr]

At the school here part of our tuition is handed to student government for them to do with as they please.

The turn out for student elections here is dismal, I would be surprised if 10% of students voted.

With that said, a lot of money goes to special interest groups, the most of which goes to the vietnamese student association. That means that everyone is paying for the vietnamese student association to throw parties that non-vietnamese aren't exactly welcome at.

Basically, we're subsidizing minority parties that we aren't welcome to.

And there is no real way to do anything about it because almost nobody votes, and the student senate has almost free reign on those funds.

If you want to create a party, charge people at the door or have your group pay annual dues. There is no reason for special interests to be funded by the vast majority of the student population that will not use them.

 

[member 5645]

At the school here part of our tuition is handed to student government for them to do with as they please.

The turn out for student elections here is dismal, I would be surprised if 10% of students voted.

With that said, a lot of money goes to special interest groups, the most of which goes to the vietnamese student association. That means that everyone is paying for the vietnamese student association to throw parties that non-vietnamese aren't exactly welcome at.

Basically, we're subsidizing minority parties that we aren't welcome to.

And there is no real way to do anything about it because almost nobody votes, and the student senate has almost free reign on those funds.

If you want to create a party, charge people at the door or have your group pay annual dues. There is no reason for special interests to be funded by the vast majority of the student population that will not use them.

We have the student government fees as well. I guess the idea that government, and other groups, should act within a budget and earn their dues (hey, this was the simple idea that ALL clubs throughout my lower education used!) is just crazy!

If the user fee for our library was 5 dollars for each book I checked out, I could check out 5+ books a month for the price of the fee I am being charged!

 

[AKG]

I had something like this too, a lot of money going to "fees." I found that you can get your money back on a lot of them. A lot of my fees had to do with insurance and medical services provided by the university, but if you already have insurance and all that (which I assume your parents have for you) then you can get a good deal of money back.

 

[TALewis]

I for one am thankful I only pay only about $5000 a year instead of closer to $20,000.

 

[member 5645]

I had something like this too, a lot of money going to "fees." I found that you can get your money back on a lot of them. A lot of my fees had to do with insurance and medical services provided by the university, but if you already have insurance and all that (which I assume your parents have for you) then you can get a good deal of money back.

Sadly, I already called trying to see what I can get back.
The "healthcare fee" is only 30 bucks, and covers having a doctor and nurses on site for "just in case" situations. Somehow, 30 bucks for healthcare, 148 to store my student records. I will have bought the university 2 new computers by the time I leave.

 

[Dissident Dan]

College costs are going up all around the country, largely as a result of reduced federal funding. In Florida, the republican-controlled state legislature just makes the budget crunch even worse.

In my school, tuition continues to go up as our university president gets over $100,000 in raises over the course of less than two years.

It sounds like the student government fee (called the Activity & Service Fee at my university) is the last thing that you should be worrying about. At least at my school, it's a pretty small percent of the total cost.

Of course, you'd be paying even more for school if you didn't have the government to subsidize it for you.

 

[member 5645]

College costs are going up all around the country, largely as a result of reduced federal funding. In Florida, the republican-controlled state legislature just makes the budget crunch even worse.

In my school, tuition continues to go up as our university president gets over $100,000 in raises over the course of less than two years.

It sounds like the student government fee (called the Activity & Service Fee at my university) is the last thing that you should be worrying about. At least at my school, it's a pretty small percent of the total cost.

Of course, you'd be paying even more for school if you didn't have the government to subsidize it for you.

And perhaps my family could help me go to school if they weren't paying taxes to subsidize the school? (for that matter, I was making quite a large sum for the 4 years I haven't been in school. Maybe I could have saved more in that case as well!)
Luckily,I can afford the school, and frankly, that's not my biggest gripe. My biggest gripe is seeing a bunch of hidden fees that have no accountability and I can't opt out of. All together, $500 of that $600 is fees that are OBVIOUSLY way more than they need to be for the designated program and/or fees for programs that I can't/won't be using. Spending money for something has never been my gripe. Spending for nothing is!

 

[Adam]

Australian uni fees are now unregulated. The average engineering degree is up around AU$75,000 I think, at the moment, and will probably increase rapidly.

 

[studentx]

I am grateful i pay only $1500 a year, from which i get back $900.
No... its not kindergarten

 

[member 5645]

I am grateful i pay only $1500 a year, from which i get back $900.
No... its not kindergarten

That's awesome!

 

[schwarzchildradius]

College costs are going up all around the country, largely as a result of reduced federal funding. In Florida, the republican-controlled state legislature just makes the budget crunch even worse.

In my school, tuition continues to go up as our university president gets over $100,000 in raises over the course of less than two years.

It sounds like the student government fee (called the Activity & Service Fee at my university) is the last thing that you should be worrying about. At least at my school, it's a pretty small percent of the total cost.

Of course, you'd be paying even more for school if you didn't have the government to subsidize it for you.

Ha! no doubt about that. Try any middle-of the road school out of state and you're talking at least tripple the in-state cost. $300 / credit hour and up is what it really costs, but the taxpayers help you out. Isn't that nice?