The Student Government Association is taking a closer look at student self-assessed fees for the university. According to the University Fee Schedule students pay $200.00 in self-assessed fees per semester, which does not include summer sessions.
With fiscal issues throughout state institutions, SGA officials said that the university should reconsider how fees are spent.
“Classroom improvement should be the major priority in which our fees should be used.
“The fees we are paying now can definitely be assessed towards things we actually need rather than what we have been using them for in the past,” said Cameron Butler, SGA senate member. SGA President Steven Jackson said many student fees were established in a time when we didn’t have access to the amenities we have today.
The Tiger Xpress game room and transportation system were funded with student fees.
The game room cost the university $70,000.00, but we don’t have lecture halls or a suitable library.
It is as if we are taught that watching movies, and playing games are more important than the betterment of our academic enrichment.
That is not a message we as a university should be sending our students, let alone future students to come.
Jade Trader, the Senate’s Finance Chair, mentioned that groups on-campus who receive some of the money either don’t use them accordingly or are just not spending them at all.
The Technology Budget has $500,000.00 in it, according to Jackson.
The Student Technology Center (STC) could benefit tremendously from that amount of money.
If not there, it could be used to improve other various things around the university that need it.
With that being said, SGA organized a Student Assessed Fee Oversight Committee .
The University of Louisiana System bylaws mandate the creation of the committee.
This should prove to be beneficial and aide university officials with spending the money they receive from students a lot wiser.
Trader stated that the SGA is trying to reduce a number of the fees and redirect them to other needs across campus.