UNC will evaluate Friday whether to raise four student fees. If approved, the fees will cost students about $17 more per year. Over the next month, the student fee advisory subcommittee will examine a total of about $85 of fee increases.
Student transit/
Safe Ride fee
Current price: $104.25
Suggested increase: $2.50
What the fee supports: The majority of the fee supports free service through the Chapel Hill Transit bus system.
An additional $25.90 would support the P2P service for students with disabilities and transportation to Student Health. That sum would also fund the P2P Express bus service from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Safe Ride-Campus, which provides service from the UNC Library and Student Union to campus housing after dark. Expenses also support the P2P bus service and Handi-Van replacement funds.
Justification: The Department of Public Safety said the fee increase of $2.50 would help cover inflation, as well as mounting fuel and maintenance costs.
Student ID fee
Current price: $7
Suggested increase: 18 cents
What the fee supports: The fee helps the OneCard office keep printers and software up-to-date.
The office prints more than 10,000 new identification cards every year for undergraduate, medical, dental and graduate students.
In addition to keeping up the office’s technology, the fee helps support the maintenance of OneCard readers and the software it takes to run them.
Justification: Jim Clinton, the director of card operations, said that there have been no ID fee increases since 2003 and that this increase is following the standard rate of inflation.
“It will certainly help us in providing services students really need,” Clinton said.
Campus Recreation fee
Current price: $97
Suggested increase: $4
What the fee supports: This fee funds the five Campus Recreation services: intramural sports, sport clubs, the outdoor recreation program, Carolina Fitness and the special events program.
It also supports housekeeping services for Campus Recreation facilities and equipment maintenance. Another portion of the fee pays for the salaries of student referees for the intramural programs.
Justification: Campus Recreation Director Marty Pomerantz said utilities are a large part of the cost, and they are estimated to increase 12 percent for next year. He also said Campus Recreation has long-term plans, including new fields at Carolina North, more multipurpose space in Woollen Gym and additional renovations of other facilities.
Pomerantz also said Campus Recreation is the largest employer of students on campus, and he said they must raise the wages they pay students to stay competitive with increases to the minimum wage.
University Career Services fee (for current students)
Current price: $68
Suggested increase: $10.50
What the fee supports: This fee lets University Career Services provide file storage for letters of recommendation. It also helps Career Services with maintenance costs and postage.
Justification: Associate Director of Career Services Tim Stiles said this fee hasn’t increased in seven years, and postage rates have been steadily increasing during that time.
Career Services also recently updated its payment options, so they have to pay for credit card processing software.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
