Student fees proposed to increase by fall semester

Students should be prepared to give UB even more of their money. If a proposal by Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs, and Satish K. Tripathi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs is approved, student fees will be increased by two percent.
"It starts in fall semester of 2010," said Carol Adler, resource analyst for the office of academic planning and budget. "Summer session 2010 will be on this current year rate, the new rate would go fall 2010 to summer 2011."
Black and Tripathi noted that the total proposed increase of two percent is in accordance with the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI). The increase is necessary so that UB and SUNY can continue to offer programs and services that students need and expect.
"They're pretty much increased every year," said Laura Barnum, senior assistant vice president for the office of academic planning and budget. "It's just the rate at which they increase has been differentiated."
Barnum added that the student fee increase is still in the proposed stage and has not been finalized by SUNY.
"There's always the opportunity that things may be adjusted or looked at differently," Barnum said.
The comprehensive student fee would increase by $20.50 a semester for full-time undergraduates, rising to $947.25. For full time Graduate and Professional students, the fee would be an extra $16, bring it to $719.25 for the semester.
So far the proposed per-semester increases include a campus life increase of $3.50 to support a portion of state-mandated negotiated salary-and-benefit increases, a health services increase of $2.50, an intercollegiate athletics increase of $4.50 (undergraduates only) to support required operating contractual increases, a transportation increase of $3 to support state-mandated negotiated salary and benefits, and a technology increase of $7 to address some of the increased costs.
Technology is a good example because of how much it has grown in just a few short years, and how expensive it is becoming to keep everything updated.
"The cost of the electronic databases are growing at a rate of nine percent," said Barnum.
The fee increases in the last few years do not cover the mandated increases. Costs continue to rise and adjustments have to be made in order to keep balance. The economy also plays a role in the budget, including state cuts for SUNY.
"We're now facing a third year of cuts from the state," Barnum said. "We're looking at $40 million that's been cut, state tax support, and we're looking at another $15 million to $20 million."
The increase in fees will help keep a variety of services running; some of the student services range from the bus system and printouts at the library, to the student Health Services in Michael Hall on South Campus. The student consultation process has shown that students are in support of the services that are being provided and that the students want to have those services available to them.
"We want to provide the services our students need to be successful, we want them to be able to focus on their academic pursuits and also have an enjoyable experience here at the University at Buffalo," Barnum said. "We want to know we are providing a valuable experience for them, a lot of these fees help accomplish that."
Barnum also added that Student Affairs does an excellent job with the whole student consultation process and all of their work to ensure that this information is provided to the students.
"[Dennis Black] and his area do a good job of representing the students," Barnum said. "He believes in what he does and that shows."

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