After weeks of tumultuous negotiations, the ASUO’s budgeting season has finally come to a close as the proposed budget leaves ASUO President Amelie Rousseau’s hands and moves on to the desk of University President Richard Lariviere.
“I am pleased to see the ASUO President has recommended a decrease in the incidental fee for next year, and I applaud the hard work of the ASUO on behalf of all UO students,” Lariviere said in an email.
If Lariviere chooses to move forward, the proposed budget­­ — bundled with other mandatory fees on campus­ — will begin its review process by the Oregon University System.
Assistant Vice President Kathie Stanley said she has not seen a president reject an ASUO-recommended budget for the nine years she has worked in president’s office.
“The ASUO has a process in place to make its recommendation for what its elected leaders want to fund and at what levels,” Lariviere said in his email. “The administration is content neutral on the programs they choose to recommend.”
Brad Shelton, co-chair of the University’s Tuition and Fee Advisory Board­, which approved the incidental fee portion of the budget last Thursday, expressed similar confidence in the ASUO budgeting process.
“There’s such a good process long before it goes to the board. I can’t imagine there being any problem by the time it gets to us,” Shelton said, adding that the incidental fee is a student-controlled fee and, unless there is a dramatic increase, the board usually passes it onto the administration without any changes.
As the budget begins the OUS review process — first with Lariviere’s recommendation to the OUS Chancellor’s Office — it will likely continue on with little revision. As long as the University’s recommended budget is in line with statewide tuition and fee caps, the chancellor’s office usually passes it on to the State Board of Higher Education without alteration, OUS spokesperson Diane Saunders said in an email.
After a series of public hearings, the State Board of Higher Education will vote on the budget in June, finalizing the University’s tuition and fees for the 2011-12 school year.
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