Six hundred dollars – that’s how much a graduate student at the Lundquist College of Business is paying this year to be a graduate student.
Programmatic Resource Fees are tacked onto students’ tuition. The fees vary based on a student’s major, ranging from $50 for a College of Education student to the aforementioned $600 – although that one is $440 more than the next-highest. Most fees cost around $100, and are typically used to help pay for specialized student support within the schools such as tutoring and career services.

“It reflects the cost of delivering education and our need to provide access to classes, provide technology, and provide advising and mentoring services – things that are directly student-related that are not funded otherwise,” said Tim Gleason, dean of the School of Journalism and Communication.
There has been a recent push within the Oregon University System to clarify fees, particularly so students are aware of the complete cost of attendance. Jay Kenton, OUS vice chancellor for finance and administration, said students sometimes do not accept enough financial aid because they do not take into account additional PRFs and course fees. He said the problem is especially evident at the University of Oregon.
Erica Annett, a University senior majoring in psychology and minoring in business, is aware of the fees and unfettered by them.
“It doesn’t really bother me because it makes a broader range of things available at the U of O,” Annett said. “It’s really beneficial for some students to have those services,” she said, especially for students from out-of-state who do not have family support nearby.
James Bean, dean of the Lundquist College of Business, said the business school’s programs would be worse off without the PRFs and specific course fees. Without them, he said, the school would not always be able to meet the special needs of business students, whose fees contribute to such opportunities as overseas trips and specialized career services.
Yet the PRFs and course fees don’t cover the complete cost of these programs. Endowments and private gifts last year provided 35 percent of the business college’s overall funding, while the state provided around 13 percent, Bean said. The general college fund fills the remaining gap and the programs are paid for by a combination of all sources.
“A lot of what the students are getting in business is leverage,” said Bean. “For a dollar of fees we’re bringing in several dollars of external support. That’s why I’m confident that the value is substantially higher than what the students are paying.”
University senior Aaron Michalson said without hesitation that high PRFs would not affect his choice to major in environmental studies, and the services are worth the cost. Michalson was not caught off guard by the fact that his major will cost him an additional $90.
“I knew there were a bunch of random fees,” he said.
If a program wants to raise its fee, it must present its case to the Oregon University System. The State Board of Higher Education approves all PRFs, and according to the OUS fee book, “The fee requests must include information regarding the academic unit initiating the fee, fee designation or name, justification of need, amount, estimated revenues and expenditures, and expected implementation date.”
But they aren’t always approved. The recent increase implemented at the journalism school – from $75 to $125 – was actually requested two years ago. Gleason said a much larger fee increase made earlier was denied. But, Gleason pointed out, scholarships and fees share a direct relationship. That is, as fees rise, so do scholarships.
“We are committed to making sure that students have access,” said Gleason. “You’re not going to find anybody on this campus who is happy about raising fees. We all are very sensitive to the cost and are trying to balance our commitment to providing the education that we promise at a major flagship university. We look at raising fees as a last resort – it’s not something that we want to do.”
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