Dennis Michael Busch - Official Website
By Dennis Busch, collective opinion of the
University Journal Editorial Board
EDITORIAL: Committee must balance services, fees
he SUU Student Fee Review Committee had its first two in a series of eight meetings last week to discuss changes to student fees for next year.
The committee, composed of the SUUSA Executive Council and appointed students at large, is charged with reviewing proposals from departments to increase or create student fees as well as make recommendations for cutting or eliminating other student fees.
The committee’s recommendations are eventually sent to the President’s Council for approval or rejection.
SUU, like all schools in the Utah System of Higher Education, is stuck with budget cuts and a pressing need to prioritize programs and services.
The University Journal Editorial Board encourages the review committee, as fellow students, to keep a sense of balance in mind when reviewing how student money is spent.
SUU is a unique educational environment because of the abundant amount of opportunity for students in both the social and academic realms.
A lack of money often leads to a cutback in services, and we understand the need to increase student fees to help supplement departments that are struggling to provide everything that students need.
That said, student fees should not become a supplement for tuition, raising the cost of attendance while keeping tuition looking low.
Many of our students chose SUU because it’s hands-down the best bang for your buck in the state, and we need to keep it that way.
We also don’t want to see a drop in services we have come to expect and that aid directly in academic pursuits, such as the temporary loss of LexisNexis in the Gerald R. Sherratt Library in September.
We know that we can’t have it all, but we hope that the members of the fee committee will balance out the services we need with our less than bottomless pockets.
The Student Fee Review Committee meetings are open and take place from 7 to 8:30 am Wednesdays in the SUUSA Conference Room in Sharwan Smith Center 205.
The committee, composed of the SUUSA Executive Council and appointed students at large, is charged with reviewing proposals from departments to increase or create student fees as well as make recommendations for cutting or eliminating other student fees.
The committee’s recommendations are eventually sent to the President’s Council for approval or rejection.
SUU, like all schools in the Utah System of Higher Education, is stuck with budget cuts and a pressing need to prioritize programs and services.
The University Journal Editorial Board encourages the review committee, as fellow students, to keep a sense of balance in mind when reviewing how student money is spent.
SUU is a unique educational environment because of the abundant amount of opportunity for students in both the social and academic realms.
A lack of money often leads to a cutback in services, and we understand the need to increase student fees to help supplement departments that are struggling to provide everything that students need.
That said, student fees should not become a supplement for tuition, raising the cost of attendance while keeping tuition looking low.
Many of our students chose SUU because it’s hands-down the best bang for your buck in the state, and we need to keep it that way.
We also don’t want to see a drop in services we have come to expect and that aid directly in academic pursuits, such as the temporary loss of LexisNexis in the Gerald R. Sherratt Library in September.
We know that we can’t have it all, but we hope that the members of the fee committee will balance out the services we need with our less than bottomless pockets.
The Student Fee Review Committee meetings are open and take place from 7 to 8:30 am Wednesdays in the SUUSA Conference Room in Sharwan Smith Center 205.
© 2010 Dennis Busch, University Journal
