While high statewide tuition continues to plague students, an additional financial obstacle – one essentially disregarded by most until recently – has become a major concern for the Oregon University System and several University community members.
Formed after the Legislature concluded last spring, a fee committee comprising students from three Oregon universities, administrative representatives, and OUS representatives is conducting research to reform the system.
“We are going to try to find a solution that works best for the system and at the same time creates the most transparency for students,” said Brett Rowlett, legislative director of the Oregon Student Association. “That’s why it’s extremely important that the students on the campuses that have been impacted by these fees be included at every level of this discussion.”
The investigation into student fees began last April when State Sen. Vicki Walker threatened to push a bill through the Legislature that would freeze all University fees unless the OUS thoroughly examined them. The main question at issue was whether students knew what they were paying for and why they were paying. Walker ultimately dropped the bill, but the primary objective was achieved: to get people talking about university fees and raise the question of “fee transparency.”
At the heart of the discussion is concern that students do not understand these additional charges to their University bill. All told, the “Fees” portion of “Resident Undergraduate 2007-2008 Tuition and Fees” costs a student with 12 credit hours $1,542 a year for purposes such as health service, technology and building. Tuition costs $3,984.
What’s more, the University charges Programmatic Resource Fees based on students’ major, college and level (undergraduate, graduate, law). Both a student’s major and college may charge PRFs, and multiple majors may result in multiple fees, according to the Registrar’s Office.
At a Sept. 10 meeting, the fee committee brainstormed five points it will use to create a fee policy to present to the State Board of Higher Education in November. The board will vote to adopt or decline the policy in January.
The committee discussed drafting a statewide fee policy that would: be drafted in time for implementation in the 2008-2009 OUS Fee Book; create more transparency for students regarding the cost of their education; be revenue-neutral, meaning it would roll current fees into tuition while keeping the cost to students and revenue to the University the same; allow certain programs to use a differential tuition model, which would roll PRFs into tuition and result in different tuition based on majors; and provide allowance or fee remissions for assistance for low-income students, thereby guaranteeing that students do not choose majors based on what’s affordable. If implemented, the policy would only immediately affect undergraduate students.
Differential tuition seems an unlikely option for the University of Oregon, which is considering eliminating all PRFs with the exception of the Honors College.
It is the PRFs that take students by surprise, and have the potential to keep a student from pursuing the major of his or her choice. The most costly of the major fees is required from the Lundquist College of Business, which charges undergraduate students $160 and graduate students $600.
There are also individual fees associated with certain courses. These can range from $2 to $150, and cover equipment and other costs associated with some courses.
“There seemed to be sort of this hidden portion of tuition,” said ASUO President Emily McLain. “As hard as the University works to make these transparent, I think students just don’t understand that.”
McLain is a student representative on the fee committee. She said progress on identifying problems has been steady, and the University’s creation of an online fee estimator is a positive step. But it doesn’t get at the bigger problem, she said. Students need a fee calculator to determine the final cost of higher education.
Yet McLain pointed out the University is not at fault in charging fees.
“The fees the University has created in the last few years are a result of the disinvestment by the state,” she said. “It’s not the University’s fault. It’s a much larger problem.”
Committee member Jay Kenton, OUS vice chancellor for finance and administration, said although the committee will not present its findings and recommendations for action to the Board until November, “many if not all resource fees” face elimination. One option for schools is to roll the PRFs into tuition, so they are clearly visible to students. Still, he said, it would be premature to predict an outcome this early.
Contact the higher education reporter at [email protected]