Students could end up paying anywhere from $36 to $50 dollars more in technology fees next year, depending on what the Arizona Board of Regents decides at its meeting today.
Student leaders are proposing the smaller fee expansion, while President Robert Shelton announced this week he is seeking $50 to benefit library and technology services.
Students currently pay $65.
Paul Thorn, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council, said $15 for the library portion of the fee was non-controversial among students, but the information technology portion was more of a problem.
Thorn helped to create and was a non-voting member of the Information Technology Student Advisory Board that crafted the student proposal of $21 specifically for technology. The board decided expanding the UA Wireless network could be done with internal loans, without increasing student fees.
Thorn said the board has provided a “”fairly precise”” proposal describing specific uses for the money, derived from the results of student surveys and conversations with campus departments.
Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Erin Hertzog said she hopes this year sets a standard for how fees are proposed.
“”These fees tend to be a little bit arbitrary,”” Hertzog said. “”If fees are supposed to go to a specific purpose, arbitrary is the last thing they should be.””
Michele Norin, executive director of the Center for Computing and Information Technology, said she hopes regents will accept Shelton’s $35 proposal, but any larger fee expansion would allow the CCIT more flexibility to address student needs.
If the fee expansion turns out to be large enough, Norin said she wanted to put money toward expanding the UA Wireless network.
Norin said there are 12,000 people registered to UA Wireless, and the network has been known to host as many as 2,000 users at one time.
“”People want to be mobile,”” Norin said. “”Having a system to support that mobility is important.””
If regents do choose a larger number, Hertzog said she planned to help organize another meeting of the IT board to identify what students’ next priority for the money would be.
