News
SOAR Edition, 2011 • The Flor-Ala
Page
13
Ever wonder where your student fees go? ;aLVMa <PZMM\ ;\INN ?ZQ\MZ
Students at UNA are not only required to pay for classes, books and possibly a dorm room, they are also required to pay several fees covering various activities and services available on campus. As of May 13, 2011, the total cost of fees
for a student enrolled in 12 hours was more than $500. For the estimated $500, a student gets a wide variety of services. Steve Smith, vice president of Business and Financial Affairs and Aleah Clark, bursar, explained what each fee a student pays for actually means. The fees are listed below in order of cost, from most expensive to least expensive.
Student Health Fee $50/semester. The Student Health Fee provides students with free access to the Bennett Infirmary. The infirmary provides students with access to healthcare, counseling and other services. In addition, the infirmary provides students with medicine at a low cost. Students who visit the infirmary do not have to file with their insurance.
Technology Fee $12/hour. The technology fee is what keeps online programs, like UNAPortal and ANGEL, up and running. Because of this fee, students can pay bills, register and view grades online. Students have access to several computer labs on campus, and Wi-Fi is provided across the entire campus with this fee. The technology fee was used to pay three to four staff members when proration set in, but it is not used to pay employees under normal circumstances.
photo by Malisa McClure
photo illustration by MorgueFile.com
Facilities Fee $10/hour. The facilities fee helps renew and replace buildings on campus. Because of this fee, the university was able to renovate Keller and Willingham halls last year. This fee allows the university to patch leaky roofs and fix other problems with buildings. This fee is constant, even if there are not current projects, in order to save money in case proration sets in. If proration does come about, the buildings at this university will not deteriorate because of the facilities fee. photo by Susan King photo by Phillip Holcombe
Student Recreation Fee $120/semester. The Student Recreation Center and the parking deck on campus are paid for with this fee. Because both facilities are fairly new, there is still debt on them. This fee repays the debt on the structures. The fee also pays for upkeep of the facilities, employees of the facilities and other operational costs like utility bills.
Transportation Fee $22/semester. The transportation fee provides students with vehicle registration, a parking decal and access to the UNA shuttle buses. These buses can take students to various places on campus and throughout the Florence area. The fee puts gas in the buses, and it pays the bus drivers.
photo by Barry Minor
Student Activity Fee Athletic Fee $12/hour. The athletic fee provides students with free admission to non-championship games, and at each game, the fee provides each student with one free concession item. This fee also provides the prizes, like iPods, iPads and T-shirts, that are given away at many games.
$25/semester. The Student Activity Fee provides students with activities and programs through University Program Council. UPC gets its budget through this fee. With this fee, UPC has provided concerts, programs, speakers and other activities free of charge to all students. Various organizations can also use money provided by this fee to host events open to all students free of charge.
photo by Ashton Lance
photo by Susan King
There are other fees, like the Distance Learning fee and special course fees, that students only have to pay if they are involved in classes that require these fees. These special fees pay for supplies that are necessary for the class the student is taking.