All UB undergraduate students will be charged $100 if UB officials decide to go through with the proposed increase to the Comprehensive Fee for the next academic year. If the fee increase is implemented, an additional $51.25 will be tacked onto full-time undergraduates' tuition bills and $37 for graduate and professional students, per semester.
No final decisions will be made until a student consultation process takes place before the end of the semester, according to officials. A survey is being conducted on MyUB through April 4.
"The feedback we receive from students is very important in shaping programs and services offered through the Comprehensive Fee," said Dennis Black, vice president of Student Affairs.
The Comprehensive Fee supports technology costs, Student Health Services, Parking and Transportation Services, Student Life, University Police, intercollegiate athletics and intramural services for undergraduates.
A large percentage of the new fee will fund state-mandated increases, according to a press release by Black and Satish Tripathi, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs.
Mandated increases cover negotiated salary and benefit costs as well as new contractual agreements that are not provided for in the University's base budget.
Officials think the extra money is also needed because of the sudden demand for health and wellness services, among others.
"There has been a 38 percent increase in the number of students utilizing these services...particularly in the area of suicide prevention and due to heightened sensitivity to the mental health needs of college student following the Virginia Tech shootings," Black said.
Many students are opposed to paying more money for improvements they do not see the need for or services they do not utilize.
"I don't think that my extra $50 a semester is going to show me any huge benefits or anything new," said Melysa Uschold, a sophomore math major.
The weakening economy is also influencing some students' opposition to the fee increase.
"I don't think the price should go up because everything else is also going up and it's just not fair. College is already expensive enough and tuition keeps rising," said Tiffany Mincey, a sophomore international business and Spanish major.
Carl Dynski, sophomore chemistry major, understands that prices will inevitably rise due to the economy but does not agree with the amount of money proposed.
"The increase needs to be more gradual, instead of a $50 increase in one semester, maybe $10 a semester," Dynski said.
There has not been much of a student reaction to the proposed Comprehensive Fee increase, according to Black.
"I believe students value the quality of the UB education and services they receive at the price point they pay," Black said.
