MSFAC approves fee increases for campus services

The Mandatory Student Fee Advisory Committee (MSFAC) unanimously approved $4 fee increases for Health, Transportation and Athletics on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
“It is my opinion that the members of MSFAC had to act in order for these valuable services to the entire student body to continue uninterrupted,” said Graduate Student Body President Anthony Baldridge.
Transportation received their full request while Athletics and Health were cut from proposed $6 and $5 increases, respectively.
“We gave them an incredible amount of scrutiny and provided due diligence. I think we were very thoughtful in the increase to fees we provided this year,” said Undergraduate Student Body President Corey T. Boone.
Representatives from each group made cases to a committee made up primarily of students, both undergraduate and graduate, for why an increase was necessary and justified.
Dr. Gregory Moore of Health Services came before the committee asking to increase the health fee from $150 to $155. One of the reasons that Moore gave for the fee increase was a plan to hire two nurse practitioners and partially fund the salary for a dietician. With the increase in the number of visits to the center and a rise in the number of more serious medical problems, the nurse practitioners could help treat more common problems like a cold or sore throat. The Health Center has already committed to closing its Dental Clinic.
“When you look at Health, the amount of demand is outpacing their current ability, and they just need additional staff members. We were well below the industry standard [relating to patient-to-staff ratio],” Boone said.
Parking and Transportation proposed an increase from $72 to $76 for their fee to help maintain services. Lance Lunsway, director of Parking and Transportation, and David Williamson, assistant director of Parking and Transportation, stated that every $1 not received would be a cut in nearly 800 hours in service. Furthermore, the rising cost of fuel necessitated a fuel surcharge.
Athletic Director Dan Radakovich asked for a $6 increase to Athletics to help some of its costs, from $123 to $129. The down year in football coupled with the somewhat lackluster home schedule made it a disappointing round of sales of football tickets, leading to less revenue. While there is a possibility that the ticket sales will increase next year, the way the football scheduling works makes it difficult to predict the sales from year-to-year. Radakovich said the increase would give some stability to the funding of the program.