SUNY-ESF has proposed an increase to three broad-based college fees, totaling $93 per student, for the 2018-19 school year.

The Intercollegiate Athletics Fee, the Student Health Fee and a Syracuse University services fee would increase by $40, $10 and $43 per student, respectively, according to a slideshow sent to the SUNY-ESF student body earlier this semester.

“Fee revenue is restricted and therefore cannot be used for any other purpose,” per the slideshow.

Tuition at SUNY-ESF as of the beginning of the 2017-18 academic year for full-time, in-state undergraduate students was $3,335. Out-of-state, full-time undergraduates had tuition set at $8,160.

The increase in the Intercollegiate Athletics Fee will allow for stipends to be given to part-time athletics coaches. The stipends would be comparable to those of a high school coach.

“It’s very similar. In high school, you often don’t have full-time coaches. You have coaches who are teachers or who work in the community and are part-time employees,” said Joseph Rufo, chief financial officer and vice president for administration of SUNY-ESF.

The Student Health Fee raise would contribute funds toward a second counseling center therapist. Rufo said that, after establishing a counseling center several years ago on the SUNY-ESF campus, there was a need for another staff therapist, due to growing demands.

“It won’t fully pay for, but it will help support the cost of a second staff therapist,” Rufo said.

Fee increases for SU services, labeled as “Other Broad Based” fees in the slideshow, will cover the required costs for access to SU’s fitness facilities, ambulance program and libraries, among other things.

The “broad-based fee” is higher at SUNY-ESF than at other State University of New York schools because SUNY-ESF has a connection to a major private university, SU, and access to its services, unlike many other state colleges.

“With that increase, we will be recovering the entire cost of providing those services,” Rufo said.

In the next five years, these broad-based fees, as well as the college fee and technology fee, are projected to increase. The fees will match the expected rise in costs for providing services.

The proposed fee increases, along with five-year projected increases, will be sent to SUNY administration to be reviewed before they are either modified or approved. At present, the athletics fee is $140, the health fee is $315 and the SU fee is $860 for full-time students.

“It’s difficult, really, to project what is going to happen five years from now,” Rufo said.

Published on March 25, 2018 at 8:26 pm

Contact Jessica: jlandreo@syr.edu