Spring Break
Students may not see general fee increase
Dave Matthews
Issue date: 12/9/08 Section: Front Page
Miami University has the highest general fee of any public four-year institution in Ohio, and with prices continuing to climb during the past three years, some students are wondering where their $1,722 goes every year.
"(The general fee) is a lot of money and I'm already out-of-state, I wish it wasn't that high," first-year Caitlyn Dobner said.
According to Miami's vice president for finance and business services David Creamer, the general fee (oftentimes referred to as the "student fee") is a fund each Miami student pays that goes toward student life. This is opposed to classroom instruction costs, which is covered by tuition.
In fiscal year 2009, Oxford campus students each paid $1,722 toward the fee on top of their tuition and other expenses, according to the Office of the Bursar Web site.
Of the total $28.3 million raised from general fees in FY2009, about half went toward Intercollegiate Athletics, 17.5 percent toward the Recreational Sports Center (RSC), 9 percent toward Goggin Ice Arena, 5.3 percent toward Student Health Services, and 3.2 percent each for Student Organizations and the Shriver Center, according to the Oxford campus general fees summary from the controller's office. Many other programs, including Parking Services and the Lecture and Artist Series, also receive funds from the general fee.
Creamer said that once his office doles out the funds from the general fee, it is up to the individual departments to set their own budget and determine what they do with the money.
"(Finance and business services) put together the plan for the budget, the funds tend to get managed by the areas that oversee these activities," he said.
The area that receives the most money from the general fee is the athletic department, overseen in part by Deputy Director for Athletics Jason Lener.
Lener said that athletics spends most of its budget on scholarships for student athletes, operating budgets for different teams and compensation for coaches and staff.
"(The general fee) is a lot of money and I'm already out-of-state, I wish it wasn't that high," first-year Caitlyn Dobner said.
According to Miami's vice president for finance and business services David Creamer, the general fee (oftentimes referred to as the "student fee") is a fund each Miami student pays that goes toward student life. This is opposed to classroom instruction costs, which is covered by tuition.
In fiscal year 2009, Oxford campus students each paid $1,722 toward the fee on top of their tuition and other expenses, according to the Office of the Bursar Web site.
Of the total $28.3 million raised from general fees in FY2009, about half went toward Intercollegiate Athletics, 17.5 percent toward the Recreational Sports Center (RSC), 9 percent toward Goggin Ice Arena, 5.3 percent toward Student Health Services, and 3.2 percent each for Student Organizations and the Shriver Center, according to the Oxford campus general fees summary from the controller's office. Many other programs, including Parking Services and the Lecture and Artist Series, also receive funds from the general fee.
Creamer said that once his office doles out the funds from the general fee, it is up to the individual departments to set their own budget and determine what they do with the money.
"(Finance and business services) put together the plan for the budget, the funds tend to get managed by the areas that oversee these activities," he said.
The area that receives the most money from the general fee is the athletic department, overseen in part by Deputy Director for Athletics Jason Lener.
Lener said that athletics spends most of its budget on scholarships for student athletes, operating budgets for different teams and compensation for coaches and staff.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Mac
posted 12/09/08 @ 6:20 AM EST
What a novel idea: Ask the students who pay the fee what THEY'D like it to be used for.
Imagine if Miami did that for the hundreds of millions the students pay in tuition too. (Continued…)
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