The Student Fee Allocation Committee has been renamed the Student Fee Advisory Board and features a more extensive process in alignment with a policy update from the Utah System of Higher Education.
USHE policy R516 lays out guidelines for general student fees, and the updated policy includes a section establishing affordability as a top priority.
“I would say we are absolutely being more cautious about fees this year,” said Student Body President Penny Mills, a senior communication studies major from Orem. “We are being extremely cautious with other students in mind. [We acknowledge] our institution’s growth, but our fees won’t increase by an insane amount. … As a part of making fees more affordable for students, there will be a few fees that we will recommend be moved into tuition.”
The SFAB has already started reviewing all student fees and will continue to meet every Friday until the end of February.
“If we were to grant everyone with the proposals that they sent in, it would be an increase of around $10-15,” Mills said. “But again, we’re still going through it and that might not happen.”
Mills said the SFAB has asked for more clarity and detail regarding the purpose and function of each fee, as well as how each fee benefits students. She said student fees should meet at least one of the following requirements to ensure they serve their intended purpose(s):
- Construct or renovate specific facilities for all students.
- Fund operations or maintenance, capital improvements, and other necessary operating expenses for student-operated facilities.
- Activities and services that the student body can benefit from.
- Support diversity, equality and inclusion.
- Support student inclusion, enrichment and success as a campus community.
The SFAB is comprised primarily of Dixie State University Student Association members, though there are always three students at large to represent the general student population.
“As part of our DSUSA constitution, we make sure that the students at large have no affiliation with DSUSA so it remains unbiased when we go over fees like DSUSA’s,” Mills said. “I guess you could say they are ‘average members of the DSU student population,’ but I think they are really great.”
Once student fees are reviewed and the SFAB comes to a decision, proposed changes are presented to the student body. The SFAB’s fee recommendations are then submitted to DSU’s Board of Trustees, who receive specific training for dealing with student fees, Board Chair David Clark said. The decision is then voted on by the Utah Board of Higher Education.
The SFAB will present the proposed 2021-2022 student fees to the student body Feb. 25 at 4:30 p.m. in the Dunford Auditorium and will be live-streamed through Zoom.
