Salary increase raises student fees
Published 12-7-2007
The Associated Students of the University of Wyoming (ASUW) approved legislation at Tuesday’s meeting that increases student fees for the 2008-2009 school year. Senate Resolution No. 2189 creates an increase of $32.53 to the current $367.10 for full-time student mandatory fees.
Entities that already receive student fees such as University of Wyoming Athletics and the Wyoming Union asked for an increase in student fees while groups like the UW Debate Team, UW Marching Band and the Student Leadership and Civic Engagement (SLCE) program made new requests for funding.
The ASUW Mandatory Student Fees Committee and the ASUW Senate worked to recommended fees that aligned with resolution No. 2189 to, “benefit a large population of students as well as fee units that otherwise have no other option to financially sustain their demonstrated service to the students.”
The senate approved an $8 increase in the athletics fee, bringing it to a total of $56 each semester. The increase will support staff and general operational expenses. The significant increase was controversial with the ASUW Senate. Senators raised arguments about free student seating at athletic events and the departments pledge to provide well over $25,000 in promotional giveaways throughout the sports’ seasons.
“For athletics, it is a typical fee; this type of increase is pretty average and I think the increases for all the other fees are fair,” Arts and Sciences Senator Christopher Carroll said. “Students might not agree because they don’t use a specific facility, but they are essentially paying for the whole package and able to use the whole thing.”
The fee will support a staff salary increase of 4.5 percent. The salary increase is the result of a decision by the State of Wyoming’s Executive Branch and the President of UW, Tom Buchanan. The salary increase prompted multiple student services to request higher fees; including a Campus Recreation hike of $4.50 and a Wyoming Union increase of $6.70 per semester.
The senate bill also mentioned the executive branch’s proposal to “sustain the 85 percent employer contribution for employee health insurance in light of anticipated increases.” The changes were made to stay equal with market value and help the university to recruit and retain the most highly qualified faculty.
“A lot of the fees are fees that we need for programs that students utilize to grow and if we don’t step up as a senate and ask students to pay, then these programs do suffer,” Carroll said. “Many people utilize Half Acre and the [Wyoming] Union, and if you don’t pay for the employees that run these programs and buildings they are going to leave for a university that does have the money to pay.”
After the senate’s debate, SLCE was the only new request to receive money. SLCE will now receive $2 per student each semester.
“We took a lot of time to consider SLCE,” Carroll said. “It's [passage is] not only a victory for those who see the potential for the program but for future students of the university. It will grow and people will realize its potential.”
This is the program’s first year to receive funding through student fees and the program will use the money for operational expenses and two graduate assistant positions.
SLCE is a new program on campus designed to encourage students to participate in leadership roles and develop a community of civic engagement and leadership. SLCE also provides support through integrating leadership and engagement into curriculum. The program plans to institutionalize existing programs including the women and men’s leadership programs.
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