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Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 9/26/07 |
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In
the News Archive - Year:
November 21, 2005 Students, school eye fees Some happy to support UWGB projects By Kelly McBride
"Who knows, my kids (might) be coming here," said Garzon, who is from Ecuador. "If I pay for them to have nice soccer fields — which is our sport — I think, you know, anything like that and I have no problem. I don't mind at all."
For many UWGB students and alumni, Garzon has the right idea — paying more in segregated fees now will pay off for the students of tomorrow.
But for some, the fees are too much. UWGB pays the highest segregated fees in the UW System. The Board of Regents has called for an audit of all system fees.
The audit is not an assumption of wrongdoing, said regent and audit liaison Eileen Connolly-Keesler. Rather, system officials want to make sure the process of determining and allocating fees is as transparent as possible for the students who pay them system-wide.
"In some cases, we've heard that the students just are not getting access as easily as they'd like as to where every dollar is going," said Connolly-Keesler, a 1982 UWGB grad. "A lot of those segregated fees are maybe fees that are voted in 10 years ago."
But for many, the idea that students vote on fees and how they're allocated is exactly the point. For example, students voted to fund renovations and expansions of the Phoenix Sports Center and University Union at UWGB, said Brian Gold, a university alumnus. Gold, a 1999 graduate, was Student Government Association president when UWGB students voted overwhelmingly to help fund the plan.
"I think it's going to have to come down to, really, where do you want to see the campus go in the future?" Gold said. "Green Bay ... is one of the first (campuses) to close enrollment. It's becoming more of a popular choice in the UW System.
"But on the flip side, a lot of the campus structures and such have not been updated any time recently."
Dissecting the fees
UWGB students are paying $1,148 in segregated fees for the 2005-06 academic year. Of that, $400 is going toward the sports center and University Union renovation projects. That $400 was phased in at $100 a year for four years, beginning in 2000-01.
Student segregated fees also support student organizations, activities and services including clubs, intramural sports, health services and alcohol education, said Tom Maki, UWGB's vice chancellor for business and finance. The student-run Segregated University Fee Allocation Committee decides who gets what.
"Ultimately, the students have control over all segregated fees," Maki said. "Now, it may not be the current students or current segregated fees — especially, capital projects are voted in by student bodies and debt is incurred. There's an obligation to pay the debt."
For UWGB junior Gina Van Dahm, that can be a tough obligation to absorb.
Van Dahm has seen firsthand the need for more space at the Phoenix Sports Center. She understands the need for renovations, she said, but finds it frustrating she won't get to use the finished facility.
"I think it's a concern, paying for something we're not going to use." said Van Dahm, who pays for her books, plus as much tuition as she can afford while her parents pick up the rest.
UWGB tennis player Heather Harding is similarly conflicted.
"It's tough to say, because I'm not put in the position to vote on it," Harding said. "All the people coming in in the next two years will get the new sports center and really like it."
Relief in sight?
The Board of Regents' segregated fee audit likely will begin in early 2006, after a roadmap for the review is approved in December. The audit could take six months to a year, Connolly-Keesler said.
Keeping an eye on fees is part of the bigger picture when it comes to keeping total costs reasonable for university students, said Regent Judy Crain of Green Bay.
"I think we still have a lot to learn about this issue," Crain said. "I think this is going to be part of an ongoing discussion. I think there are some variations from campus to campus. ... We need to take a look at the whole thing."
And while UWGB students will be paying for the sports center and Union capital projects for years to come, there could be some relief in sight.
UWGB Chancellor Bruce Shepard's plan to significantly increase student enrollment will help ease the fee burden, Maki said.
"I think it's going to help us tremendously having more students," he said. "It doesn't mean you have to expand facilities proportionately to accommodate those students. Having more students to pay (segregated) fees would bring the rate down."
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