Student Fee Advisory Subcommittee discusses two proposed student fee changes

The Student Fee Advisory Subcommittee discussed two proposed student fee cost changes — an increase in the student health fee and a decrease in the technology fee — for the 2021-22 academic year at its virtual meeting Monday.

Student fee approvals begin in the Student Fee Audit Committee, which provides input to SFAS, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Nathan Knuffman said. SFAS then makes recommendations to the Tuition and Fee Advisory Task Force, which provides recommendations to the chancellor and provost. 

In March, the Board of Governors will take action on the proposals. 

Proposed changes 

The student health fee request is an increase of $10, or about 2.5 percent, Knuffman said. The proposed student health fee for the upcoming academic year is $410.15, according to the 2021-22 academic year requests. 

“That level is consistent with the amount recommended last year through the process,” Knuffman said. “The $10 increase, among others, were approved at the campus level and were submitted to the Board of Governors, but the Board of Governors paused all actions in light of COVID this spring.”

Besides the student health fee increase proposal, an overall increase for other mandatory fees is not allowed, according to the 2021-22 academic year student fee instructions.

But the instructions are not definite and programs such as BeAM, a network of UNC makerspaces, could use revenue support, Knuffman said. 

Information Technology Services has proposed a decrease of $2.56 in the technology component of the Education and Technology fee, Assistant Provost for Finance Barron Matherly said. 

The proposal is “a work in progress” and will be further developed this week, Matherly said. 

“Folks that were on SFAS last year may recall that the same proposal came forward last year and was approved on our campus, but did not move forward this past spring,” Matherly said. 

The subcommittee is set to reconvene in its next meeting with Campus Health to discuss the student health fee increase in greater detail, Knuffman said. 

Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Christopher Payne expressed concern for Campus Health, advocating for a timely notification so that they can best prepare and answer questions.

“Because of the things that they are doing in response to all of the things happening to the health and well-being of our students, not only just Campus Health, but also more specifically (Counseling and Psychological Services), the notification of when those meetings are going to be with a little advanced notice would be helpful,” Payne said.

The subcommittee is scheduled to deliver its recommendations to the TFAT on Oct. 22. The time frame is rushed because SFAS received instructions from the System Office late, Knuffman said. 

“I felt okay about the schedule, especially if we were only considering the Campus Health fee,” Knuffman said. “I do think it's a very valid consideration if we are entertaining other increases and there may be multiple to offset against that decrease.” 

Knuffman said if the Education and Technology Fee decreases, it would be challenging to finish discussing the recommendation in a single meeting.

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