Shepherd University President’s Budget Council proposes increases in multiple fees for students
Students could pay more for online courses, graduation and in-state tuition under a 2016 budget plan under consideration by the University President’s Budget Council.
“We told them that just doubling the price was unacceptable,” said Student Government Association President Logan Sigley. Sigley spoke during a March 3 SGA meeting.
Fees for online courses could be doubled from $25 to $50, under the plan. According to minutes from the faculty Senate meeting that took place Feb. 16, there was discussion about a higher hike in online fees. Some proposed raising the fee to $25 per hour for each online course, but this idea met with some resistance as some members of the Budget Council suggested the hike be phased in slower.
“Some suggestions we had were to raise the price by $5 to $10 dollars, even $15 instead of doubling it.” Sigley said.
When students apply for an online course at Shepherd University, they must pay a $25 fee in addition to the money they must already pay for tuition, explained Sigley.
“This fee is relatively low, compared to what is offered statewide,” Sigley said. “The state average page that comes with an online course is $45 dollars.”
Sigley went on to say that the Budget Council intends to increase the price of online courses to offset the cost of Adobe Cloud, a program used to help run online courses at Shepherd. Sigley expressed distaste for these methods, saying, “This is not the way you do things.”
Graduation fee hikes proposed would also be doubled, from $30 to $60, Sigley said.
“This fee goes toward the commencement ceremony, renting costs for tables and sound equipment,” said Sigley
This proposal was cause for discussion at the SGA meeting, several students questioning why they should have to pay for a ceremony they do not plan on attending to graduate and other suggesting including this fee into tuition.
Another fee increase proposed by the Budget Council is for in-state tuition.
“A 4 percent increase to in-state undergraduate tuition and a zero percent increase to out-of-state tuition have been proposed. A 4 percent increase to graduate tuition across the board has also been proposed. Summer school and summer camps are being discussed as ways to maximize summer revenue. A 1 to 3 percent salary increase may be possible soon,” Faculty Sen. Osman Guzide is quoted in the minutes of the Feb. 16 meeting as saying.
The development of all of these proposals will be discussed in the weekly SGA meetings, held every Tuesday at 5 p.m. on the third floor of the student center.