Marketing & Communications
Division of University Relations and Development
News Release
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SDSU President Implements $80 Student Fee
Increase CONTACT: Jason Foster, foster@mail.sdsu.edu The fee increase will enable the university to
offer about 490 more course sections over the next academic year,
and help its Athletics department offset the continuing loss of
state funds and the rising cost of scholarships and student-athlete
support services. The fee increase will generate approximately $4.8
million a year for SDSU Athletics and allow the university to transfer
about $2.4 million in state funds annually to its academic budget.
It lost by a narrow margin in an advisory student referendum held
April 14-15. Weber had followed the advice of the majority vote
in previous fee referenda since his arrival at SDSU in 1996. But
in this case, he said, he must approve the fee increase because
the university has an urgent need to provide classes as it faces
a third straight year of budget reductions that will likely bring
the university's total negative budget impact since the 2002-2003
fiscal year to more than $40 million. "I cannot allow our students and this university
to fall victim to this budget crisis when we have ways to mitigate
it," said Weber, who notified SDSU students of his decision
this morning via e-mail. "In the early 1990s, budget cuts rendered
the university unable to provide adequate course sections. It proved
catastrophic for our students, greatly impeding their progress toward
graduation and in many cases halting it altogether. The repercussions
lasted for years. I would not be meeting my responsibilities as
president if I did not do everything within my power to prevent
that circumstance from happening again." The increase, which raises the IRA fee to $95 per
semester for students attending the main campus, will start with
the fall 2004 term. IRA fees, designed to support student-related
activities outside of the classroom, cannot be used to fund courses
directly. Therefore, the approximately $4.8 million per year in
revenue generated by the fee increase will go to the Athletics department.
Athletics will then permanently transfer from its General Fund budget
allocation to Academic Affairs an amount equal to 50 percent of
that revenue. This will enable SDSU's colleges to support additional
instructional course sections. In the weeks leading up to the student referendum,
the proposed fee increase earned the endorsement of many campus
groups and organizations including Associated Students, the University
Senate and the SDSU chapter of the California Faculty Association.
Last week the Campus Fee Advisory Committee, the official advisory
body to the campus president on all student fee issues, recommended
implementation of the IRA fee increase. "These courses are essential to our ability
to serve students," Weber said. "We estimate more than
15,000 individual spaces will be available in the additional 490
sections. This will help ensure our current students get the classes
they need in order to graduate in a timely manner, and it will ensure
that future students waiting to get into SDSU will have courses
available when they arrive." Weber said the fee increase also helps prevent
students from taking a significant financial hit caused by delays
in receiving their degree. "Last year our average student who received
a bachelor's degree left SDSU for a position paying $33,500 per
year. For each semester that a student's graduation is delayed because
of the unavailability of needed courses, that student stands to
lose $16,750 in career income," he said. Weber said the IRA fee increase also will benefit
the overall health of the university by bringing a more sustainable
balance of funding to the Athletics department, putting its fee
revenue structure more in line with others in the Mountain West
Conference. "This will decrease the Athletics department's
reliance on state funds while at the same time providing additional
resources it needs to meet increasing costs for scholarships and
other services for student-athletes," Weber said. Weber also plans to authorize a $16 per semester
student union fee increase, starting in fall 2006, to pay for a
university swimming facility. That fee was approved by a separate
student vote during the April 14-15 advisory referenda, and Weber's
approval is conditional upon final validation of the student advisory
referendum results. SDSU is the oldest and largest institution of higher
education in the San Diego region. Founded in 1897, SDSU offers
bachelor's degrees in 79 areas, master's degrees in 67 and doctorates
in 14. SDSU's more than 33,000 students participate in academic
curricula distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing
international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For
more information log on to www.sdsu.edu. SDSU Annual Mandatory Student Fees
Even with the IRA fee increase, SDSU remains one
of the best values in the nation in public higher education. · The current fee average at public universities nationwide is 77 percent higher than what SDSU students are set to pay next year. Here's how SDSU's current fees for 2004-05 compare to 2003-04 fees at several different groups of universities.* University/Group Total Annual Mandatory Fees (*Note: Many states, including California, are currently considering system-wide increases in university fees for the 2004-05 academic year.) |
