The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

CSUSM mulls $350 fee to ensure ‘Student Success’

CSUSM+mulls+%24350+fee+to+ensure+Student+Success

 By Wendolyn Leal

Staff Writer
In order to cover its expenses for student education, CSUSM is considering adding a fee to student tuition that will grow from $350 a year to $550 a year over the next three years.

In an effort to keep up with the cost of providing a quality education, the campus has designed the Academic Excellence and Student Success Fee to make up for budget reductions that have undermined the ability of CSUSM to support its students. The fee which, if passed, will begin in fall 2013 will be implemented by CSUSM and the entirety of the funds will go to CSUSM.

The funds are projected to help students graduate and increase the quality experience at campus. The money may be allocated to any number of uses including: increased access to classes and laboratories by providing additional course sections, enhance advising and career services, provide additional academic support (supplemental instruction, math lab and writing lab), and/or support for student life and recreational opportunities.

“From a student perspective, the resulting benefits of the fee may include more access to courses and more access to critical academic support,” said Cathy Baur, Associate Vice President for Communications. “If a student graduates even just a semester early, he or she would save approximately $6,500 plus the benefit of starting a career sooner.”

Getting an education at Cal State San Marcos is costing students a whole lot more than it did just three years ago. Cal State San Marcos raised its tuition and fees by 31 percent to $6,596 in 2011, more than any other university in the country, according to a report by collegedata.com. The CSU system increased total tuition and fees by an average of 25 percent in 2011.

Last fall, Prop. 30 was a hot topic of discussion, especially among students, many of whom may have voted in its favor. At the same time, the university was already holding meetings to discuss the new student fee.   

Baur said that CSUSM President Karen Haynes launched the Academic Excellence and Student Success Fee Taskforce last September. It met with representatives from ASI, the Academic Senate and others to discuss the fee and get feedback.

To pass such a fee, the campus must gather student input. The campus can consult with students through a vote or a process called “alternative consultation.” CSUSM has chosen the alternative consultation process which involves hosting forums and asking for input on their website (https://www.csusm.edu/successfee/index.html) through a survey with a feedback form.

The CSU system codes states that an alternative consultation must get “input from the student body association and the fee advisory committee [is] to ensure that the process is transparent, and meaningful, and will solicit the input of a representative sample of the student body.”

To address questions and concerns of students and staff, two open forums were scheduled that presented key information on where the funds generated would go. The first forums were held on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. The last forum is scheduled for U-hour on March 12 in Arts 240.

Haley Perko, a CSUSM sophomore, was disappointed that the forum did not provide the information that she hoped to hear.

“They seemed so uncertain as to where the funds would actually go. Before the fee was presented to us, there should have been a plan as to where the funds would be allocated. More specifically to show students what our money will be used for,” Perko said.

If approved, the Student Success fee will rise 57 percent over the next three years. It is proposed that the fee will begin in the 2013-2014 school year with a $175 per semester fee, a $350 yearly cost. The fee reaches a plateau in the 2015-2016 school year with a $275 per semester fee charge, a $550 yearly rate that is expected to continue.

With approximately 10,600 students enrolled for the 2013-2014 year, that is about $3.71 million in revenue in the first year from this fee. If the fee goes into effect, it will impact every single student enrolled at CSUSM, all students will be required to pay the fee.

CSUSM is not the only campus that is exploring the use of a student success fee. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo which instituted the fee last fall, held informational forums and a student advisory vote. Although CSUSM has chosen to gather feedback in the form or alternative consultation (i.e. forums and surveys), other campuses have opted for a referendum, a process in which all those affected vote on the fee.  

 “President Haynes determined that the use of alternative consultation was more appropriate than a student fee referendum,” Baur said. “This decision was based on the consistently low voter turnout the campus has experienced during ASI elections and other fee referendums held on campus. Alternative consultation ensures that students from all aspects of campus life have an opportunity to participate in decisions regarding fee increases and the use of those fees.”

The success fee website indicates that feedback is required by March 12. Some students oppose the fee and don’t feel the university has given them enough time and information to comment on it. The week of Feb. 14, students began receiving emails from the Office of Communications regarding the website for the Student Success Fee.

 

 

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    Anne HallMar 8, 2013 at 12:28 am

    The forum only asks a person what they would do with the money if they had it to spend. It doesn’t give an option to decline the expense or state why you don’t find it necessary, etc. without actually entering in a willingness to give up $100.

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