Ohio University’s Budget Planning Council approved recommendations for fee increases for the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and for orientation meals at its meeting Friday.
BPC will pass these recommendations on to the Board of Trustees for official approval. The Voinovich School proposed implementing a $40 student technology fee and Culinary and Dining Operations suggested increasing its Bobcat Student Orientation meal fee from $32 to $34.
Kent Smith, vice president for Student Affairs, said OU should not “nickel-and-dime” students and parents, and suggested that the University College, which pays for orientation, trim its costs, according to BPC’s Feb. 18 meeting minutes.
The council approved recommendations for several other fee increases during its previous meeting, but asked the Voinovich School and Culinary and Dining Operations to return with more information on their proposed fees before giving the recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
During the council’s Feb. 18 meeting, the College of Arts and Sciences proposed raising its undergraduate technology fee from $30 to $65 but withdrew its request after the council rejected the recommendation and asked for more information. Two other fee requests from the Voinovich School were also rejected.
“(The Voinovich School) was asking for things that the committee felt were related to student services, and the committee thought that should just be included in the normal budget like with any other college,” said John Day, associate provost for academic budget and planning.
BPC also guided the General Fee Advisory Committee, which is composed of mostly student members, in how to format its annual report to OU President Roderick McDavis.
“After we fix grammatical and formatting errors it will be out to the public on March 15 to go with the governor’s budget,” said Student Senate President Jesse Neader, who is a member of the general fee committee.
The committee ranks four General Fee funding categories according to which should receive the most money.
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