Program aims to simplify student fees

The administration of Texas A&M University-Commerce is considering a proposal to replace individual course fees with what are being called "program" fees.

Under the proposal, created by the Budget Council, course fees would no longer be calculated on a class-by-class basis, but instead averaged across all courses in a given department. In effect, all students taking classes in that department would be charged the same amount in program fees.

The money from the fees, which previously had gone into many separate accounts in a department, would instead go into a pool of one or two accounts which all department faculty would draw from for supplies needed throughout the semester.

"The problem was that students were charged multiple fees every semester," Assistant Vice President of Budgeting and Financial Analysis and head of the Budget Council Alicia Currin said. "We want to simplify things so students know what they pay."

It is the perceived confusion by students over what the individual course fees were and what they were for that led to the program fee idea.

"Right now we have over 400 different course fees," Dean of the College of Business and Technology Harold Langford said. "It is difficult to find what any individual fee is for. No student is going to rummage through all the individual fees to find theirs."

Members of the Budget Council stress the new program will be "revenue neutral" in that no more or less money will be taken in from students.

"In the end, it's really no big difference," Art Department Head Joe Daun said. "Right now [our department has] over 100 accounts. This program will simplify matters."

According to Daun, students in his department could pay $20 less in course fees on average by balancing the costs out among all students taking art classes.

Many in the administration think leveling out student costs is a much more straightforward way to do business.

"It makes it more fair," Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Christine Evans said. "It makes it much simpler. There are less budget lines for the departments and makes administration much easier."

Currin admits while there is a lot of support for the proposal, not all response has been positive.

"There has been some frustration," Currin said. "We've heard from some teachers ‘I had the money for that specific course' and ‘I don't want to lose my share for the course.' That's why we have to track where the money is going."

Students have been generally receptive to the idea, however.

"Balancing course fees will give everyone a better chance to succeed," sophomore art major, Kenny Scarberry said. "We need all the help we can get, and this will give us more money for activities and supplies we need."

The proposal is still tentative, and President Dr. Dan Jones may elect not to implement the plan at this time.

"The president may decide with the current economic environment that ultimately now is not the time to make this change," Currin said.