Quarter fee hike raises concern
By Shaun Bishop
Nov. 26, 2002 9:00 p.m.
The College of Letters & Science has decided to raise a fee
many students don’t know exists. The fee increase could make
a big difference on a student’s BAR account. Students were
not consulted about the increase.
The Instructional Enhancement Initiative fee, charged quarterly
to students, will be increased from $4 to $7 per unit for the
upcoming winter and spring quarters to make up for funding lost in
recent state budget cuts.
For a student taking an average of 15 units per quarter, this
fee hike induces a $45 quarterly or $135 yearly increase in
fees.
On Nov. 15 Chancellor Albert Carnesale approved Provost Brian
Copenhaver’s proposal to raise the IEI fee charged to
students, against recommendations from the Student Fee Advisory
Committee not to raise the fee.
SFAC stated in a letter to the Chancellor, “We are
uncomfortable with campus-based student fees being increased to
offset reductions in state funds that include some of the core
academic functions of the university.”
According to a letter written by Copenhaver, the student fee
money goes toward enhancements in “instructional
technology.” The money is split about evenly between
maintaining course Web sites and funding for student computing labs
on campus, including compensating lab staff and purchasing new
hardware.
Prior to recent budget cuts, the state paid for approximately
half of the IEI costs, which total almost $6 million. Money from
student fees paid for the rest.
With the state’s economy weakening the College is trying
to recover a $1.7 million cut from the “instructional
technology” budget. The College experienced $4.5 million
total in budget cuts.
The College had originally planned to raise the fall quarter IEI
fee to $6 per unit and keep it constant for the rest of the year.
But since the final budget information for the current fiscal year
was not available until September, the fee was kept at $4.
To compensate for this, the fee increase will be a dollar more
than planned, at $7 for winter and spring 2003.
If California’s economy recovers and funding to the
College is restored, the IEI fee will go back down to $4 in fiscal
year 2003-2004. But if state resources are not restored, the fee
will be set at $6 per unit indefinitely, starting in fall 2003, to
maintain the flow of funds.
“UCLA has had a national reputation for being a
technologically advanced university,” said John Sandbrook,
assistant provost for the College. “Unfortunately, it costs
money.”
The College is raising the fees to keep total funds for the
Initiative at just below $6 million, where they were before the
budget cuts.
The Instructional Enhancement Initiative was created in 1997 to
fund the growth of technology that assists student learning.
The fees were first assessed in 1997 at $2.50 per unit for
humanities and social science courses and $3.50 per unit in life
and physical science courses. In 2001, the College raised the fees
to $4 per unit for all course divisions.
Until now, the student fees have paid for half of the provided
services and the state has covered the rest. Now, the SFAC says,
UCLA students will be paying nearly the entire operating cost of
the IEI.
“Obviously the students do not wish to see services cut,
but (the increase) is absolutely inappropriate, especially when no
student oversight of that money currently exists,” said Matt
Kaczmarek, chair of the University of California Council on Student
Fees and SFAC member, in an e-mail.
Angie Cho, a fifth-year history student, feels that raising
costs will force students who are already struggling financially to
work more, taking time away from activities that allow them to
apply their education to the real world.
“If you can’t participate in social justice or other
activities, the ideas of the “˜Ivory Towers’ will remain
just that ““ ideas,” she said.
First-year visual arts student Tyler Thacker supports the
increase, but admits, “It’s a little scary that so much
is up to an outside force to determine what’s good for the
students.”
Others in favor of the increase said students should pay
necessary costs to maintain the quality of instruction they receive
at UCLA.
“Are you going to compromise education? It isn’t
ideal, but it’s justified in the given circumstances,”
said third-year political science student Alison Harms.
