Student Activity Fee set to increase in fall
Each semester, students must pay a Student Activity Fee along with their regular tuition. This fee has been increased from $75 to $80 per semester starting in the 2012-2013 academic year.
Executive Director of Student Services Daniel Stoker said that the increase was originally brought up to address issues with fitness equipment.
“What happened this year was the need presented itself. Fitness equipment was donated, primarily here in Schwitzer [Student Center]. But funds were not identified in order to deal with maintenance. As equipment has been breaking down, without money allocated for the equipment—it basically is [fixed] as funds are available—there’s no process in place to maintain the equipment,” Stoker said. “It’s becoming an increased burden, so [Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students] Kory Vitangeli and [Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management] Mark Weigand came forward in order to ask for an increase in order to be able to allocate some funds for this purpose, because we can’t go indefinitely without something identified.”
The Student Activity Fee is distributed to various groups and places on campus, including Indianapolis Student Government, Campus Program Board, Intramurals, the Diversity series, Homecoming, Leadership activities, the handbook/student manual, Schwitzer and the Registered Student Organizations.
Stoker explained that some of the money for Schwitzer is dedicated to The Hub.
“Schwitzer is primarily used to help fund supplies and equipment for The Hub area. So as we need more equipment—whether the [billiards] sticks break, we need new ping pong balls or paddles, we need to replace the felt on the tables, [or] those kinds of things [we can use that money],” Stoker said. “If the money ends up building up, and they don’t use it, it has been designated in the past for other purposes to benefit the students.”
Some of the past expenditures from the extra money include lighting fixtures in UIndy Hall and the monitors in Schwitzer that were installed to help advertise events.
According to Stoker, the RSO fund is distributed equally among registered student organizations.
“All organizations, if they’re registered and they’re in good standing, receive $150 per semester,” he said. “So that’s what we consider a flat allocation, which covers their basic operations.”
The money left over after all the flat allocations is then kept in the RSO fund. Then, if an RSO wants to hold an event, the organization can come to the Student Leadership Council and ask for additional funds.
“It’s not guaranteed that everyone [every RSO] receives the funds, but they [the SLC] take it very seriously in terms of that role—trying to be a good steward of the student money,” Stoker said.
Stoker believes that students should understand how the Student Activity Fee is put into action.
“Most students, they pay the activity fee, but if you ask them how it’s utilized, they probably have no clue,” he said.
Junior psychology major and ISG treasurer Hannah Purcell is working on a policy to help students better understand which events involve the Student Activity Fee.
“This policy requires any RSO that allocates money from the Student Leadership council to post the SAF emblem on their advertisement,” Purcell said. “The general goal is for students to know that their student activity fee dollars are at work when they see the SAF emblem.”
