By Kristin Melody

Co Editor-in-Chief

The sparsely attended final forum —- where students were able to provide feedback regarding the proposed Academic Excellence and Student Success Fee —- was held at noon March 12 in Arts Hall 240.

The fee is proposed to start next fall and would start out at $175 per semester.  The amount would increase over time to make up for the lack of funding the universities in the CSU system are receiving.

“[We] have to scramble to live within our means,” said forum presenter Bridget Blanshan,  who is Associate Vice President for Student Development Services and Student Academic Support Services at CSUSM. “That is why the fee is suggested, and it is a suggestion.”

The forum was the third in a series of forums that were hosted by the university as part of the “alternative consultation” process. The university also allows feedback on their website www.csusm.edu/successfee through a survey and feedback form. The ability to submit feedback on the website closes at midnight on March 12.

Blanshan said that the feedback from all the forums and online surveys will be given to the Success Fee Taskforce, who will report the findings to the Student Fee Advisory Committee. The advisory committee will present their findings to President Karen Haynes in the beginning of April. Ultimately, the decision to enact the fee lies with the president in consultation with the CSU chancellor.

About 50 people attended the March 12 forum, including student James Sebring.

“There doesn’t appear to be any real solidarity to where this is going,” Sebring said. “I’m frustrated with the way things have gone with student fees.”

Students shared many opinions at the forum and expressed frustrations about the lack of transparency regarding the Student Success Fee.

“It’s almost a lie, but not quite a lie,” Sebring said.

The CSU Board of Trustees controls tuition amounts. But the fees that students pay in addition to tution are decided at the campus level. Blanshan informed attendees that the enrollment target for next semester at CSUSM is higher than the current number of students, but there is no guarantee that tuition will not increase as well.