Each semester, approximately $535 slips out of every University of Idaho student’s pocket and into the black hole known as the Student Activity Fee.
The Student Activity Fee is one portion of the overall fees and tuition students pay at the beginning of each year, and it funds programs that students pay for and receive services from in return.
About 30 university departments depend on funding from the Student Activity Fee, with athletics receiving the largest portion. Some services provided by the Student Activity Fee are tangible, such as free access to athletic events and the Student Recreation Center with Vandal Cards. But other departments receive funding year after year without their services being evaluated for the benefits they provide students.
However, this fall ASUI’s budget committee plans to audit every single department that receives funding from the Student Activity Fee to determine which programs are most beneficial to students.
In the past, Student Activity Fee funding rolled over and departments received the same amount each year. Only departments that requested increases in funding were evaluated, even though annual reviews are required in ASUI’s rules and regulations. By establishing this review process, students will have a fairly direct voice in determining which programs continue to be funded with the fee.
The seven members of the ASUI budget committee will decide how the money is allocated to each department and UI President M. Duane Nellis will approve the final numbers. The new proposal will then be presented to the state Board of Education in April. Once the auditing process for distributing funding is complete, ASUI intends to hold an open forum for students to educate them on what ASUI learned during the review process and where their money is going.
The distribution of the Student Activity Fee among university departments is a complicated topic that most students don’t understand and don’t want to take the time to learn about — even though every student pays more than $1,000 each year into the Student Activity Fee.
The ASUI open forum is a chance for students to have an impact and decide which programs they think are most beneficial and should continue to be funded. It’s an opportunity to enhance your education and make sure every penny of your tuition and fees count.
And the Student Activity Fee will be a fund that every student understands and can see the direct impact it has in their lives — instead of a black hole.
— EE