By Kwasi Osei-Amankwah<\/p>\n\n\n\n
April 9 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
STORRS \u2014 Where do uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty fees go? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alli\u00adson Wall, a junior at the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut and a nat\u00adur\u00adal resources and envi\u00adron\u00adment major, is one of many stu\u00addents grap\u00adpling with the esca\u00adlat\u00ading cost of high\u00ader edu\u00adca\u00adtion. As a state that ranks 46th in afford\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty nation\u00adwide, Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut pos\u00ades a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant finan\u00adcial chal\u00adlenge for stu\u00addents like Wall, striv\u00ading to achieve their aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic ambi\u00adtions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wall said she works two jobs sev\u00aden days a week to sup\u00adport her\u00adself and is keen to under\u00adstand how her tuition fees are dis\u00adtrib\u00aduted. She wants to ensure that her invest\u00adment in her edu\u00adca\u00adtion is being uti\u00adlized effec\u00adtive\u00adly and hopes for greater trans\u00adparen\u00adcy in the allo\u00adca\u00adtion of her tuition dol\u00adlars. Like many stu\u00addents, Wall works often to finance her edu\u00adca\u00adtion and wants to ensure that her efforts trans\u00adlate into the best out\u00adcome. She wants to know where her mon\u00adey is going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do not even know what a uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty fee is,\u201d said Wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can stu\u00addents locate the loca\u00adtions of their stu\u00addent fee pay\u00adments? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wall jug\u00adgles two jobs every day of the week to sup\u00adport her\u00adself. Despite her demand\u00ading sched\u00adule, she main\u00adtains good grades and strives to make the most of her col\u00adlege expe\u00adri\u00adence. Her com\u00admit\u00adment to her edu\u00adca\u00adtion is evi\u00addent in her work eth\u00adic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many stu\u00addents, Wall does not use the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty recre\u00adation cen\u00adter. Instead, she prefers to work out on her own time, when it is con\u00adve\u00adnient for her. How\u00adev\u00ader, when she received her fee bill for the upcom\u00ading semes\u00adter, she was sur\u00adprised to see a $250 charge for the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty recre\u00adation cen\u00adter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have no idea where all this mon\u00adey is going. I do not even go to the rec cen\u00adter!\u201d Wall exclaimed, con\u00adfused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feel\u00ading dis\u00adheart\u00adened by the cost of her edu\u00adca\u00adtion, Wall is try\u00ading to deci\u00adpher the num\u00adbers on her bill. She can\u00adnot com\u00adpre\u00adhend why she is charged for a facil\u00adi\u00adty she has nev\u00ader used. The fee seems unjust and needs to reflect her actu\u00adal usage of the recre\u00adation cen\u00adter, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many stu\u00addents have expressed con\u00adcerns and asked about the spe\u00adcif\u00adic allo\u00adca\u00adtion of fees. The uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty\u2019s stu\u00addent gov\u00adern\u00adment is hold\u00ading meet\u00adings to dis\u00adcuss the issue, and the stu\u00addent body is putting up posters around the cam\u00adpus to dis\u00adplay their frus\u00adtra\u00adtion over an accom\u00adpa\u00adny\u00ading tuition increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ris\u00ading tuition and stu\u00addent debt costs have become press\u00ading con\u00adcerns for many col\u00adlege stu\u00addents. For exam\u00adple, at the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut, stu\u00addents like Wall face the finan\u00adcial strain of pur\u00adsu\u00ading their aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic aspi\u00adra\u00adtions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most con\u00adfus\u00ading part of this finan\u00adcial ques\u00adtion is the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty fee struc\u00adtures, which leave stu\u00addents won\u00adder\u00ading where their tuition dol\u00adlars are allo\u00adcat\u00aded. Take UConn, for instance; uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty offi\u00adcials say stu\u00addent fees con\u00adtribute to essen\u00adtial ser\u00advices and ini\u00adtia\u00adtives, includ\u00ading aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic pro\u00adgrams, cam\u00adpus facil\u00adi\u00adties, and stu\u00addent sup\u00adport ser\u00advices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How\u00adev\u00ader, the lack of trans\u00adparen\u00adcy and account\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty in fee allo\u00adca\u00adtion has left many stu\u00addents dis\u00adil\u00adlu\u00adsioned and dis\u00adem\u00adpow\u00adered. \u201cThe mon\u00adey prob\u00ada\u00adbly goes to Radenka\u2019s (the school\u2019s pres\u00adi\u00addent) Fer\u00adrari,\u201d said Katie Tutil\u00adlo, a fresh\u00adman at UConn major\u00ading in psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UCon\u00adn\u2019s web\u00adsite has a spot that describes the fees and why stu\u00addents are charged for them. <\/p>\n\n\n
[info\u00adgram id=\u201cpie-chart-for-university-fees-1hxj48mp0gj552v?live\u201d]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under\u00adgrad\u00adu\u00adate fees at UConn total about $2,017 a semes\u00adter. The fees charged to stu\u00addents attend\u00ading the Storrs or region\u00adal cam\u00adpus\u00ades of the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut include sev\u00ader\u00adal manda\u00adto\u00adry fees. These fees can vary depend\u00ading on the cam\u00adpus. Still, they include the Gen\u00ader\u00adal Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty Fee, the Stu\u00addent Health and Well\u00adness Fee, the Stu\u00addent Recre\u00adation Cen\u00adter Fee, the Tran\u00adsit Fee, the Infra\u00adstruc\u00adture Main\u00adte\u00adnance Fee, the Tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy Fee, and the Activ\u00adi\u00adty Fee. The total cost of these fees is approx\u00adi\u00admate\u00adly $2,017 per semes\u00adter or $4,034 per year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty requires all stu\u00addents to pay a Gen\u00ader\u00adal Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty Fee. This fee sup\u00adports pro\u00adgrams and ser\u00advices that are intend\u00aded to ben\u00ade\u00adfit stu\u00addents. The Stu\u00addent Health and Well\u00adness Fee is also manda\u00adto\u00adry for Storrs stu\u00addents. It cov\u00aders the costs of health ser\u00advices offered by the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty, such as coun\u00adsel\u00ading and men\u00adtal health, nutri\u00adtion sci\u00adences, well\u00adness and pre\u00adven\u00adtion, wom\u00aden\u2019s health, and pri\u00adma\u00adry and urgent care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Stu\u00addent Recre\u00adation Cen\u00adter Fee is manda\u00adto\u00adry for all Storrs-enrolled stu\u00addents and is used to sup\u00adport the oper\u00ada\u00adtions and con\u00adstruc\u00adtion of the Stu\u00addent Recre\u00adation Cen\u00adter. This fee can\u00adnot be waived and is not a usage fee. There\u00adfore, stu\u00addents like Wall, who have nev\u00ader stepped foot inside, still must pay the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tran\u00adsit Fee is a required fee for all stu\u00addents. It sup\u00adports the cam\u00adpus shut\u00adtle bus ser\u00advices at Storrs, such as Husky Safe rides, late-night ser\u00advice, and acces\u00adsi\u00adble van ser\u00advice. The fee also sup\u00adports shut\u00adtle bus ser\u00advices at the region\u00adal cam\u00adpus\u00ades and improves pub\u00adlic tran\u00adsit to and near UConn cam\u00adpus\u00ades through pay\u00adments made to the CT DOT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The manda\u00adto\u00adry Infra\u00adstruc\u00adture Main\u00adte\u00adnance Fee applies to all stu\u00addents at the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty. The fee is uti\u00adlized to sup\u00adport the expens\u00ades asso\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded with UConn 2000 projects and the pre\u00adven\u00adtion and defer\u00adral of main\u00adte\u00adnance costs relat\u00aded to uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty build\u00adings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy Fee funds var\u00adi\u00adous IT projects direct\u00adly ben\u00ade\u00adfit\u00ading stu\u00addents. These projects include increased wire\u00adless capac\u00adi\u00adty, tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy and media-relat\u00aded library ser\u00advices, and access to cer\u00adtain Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty-wide soft\u00adware licens\u00ading agree\u00adments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Activ\u00adi\u00adty Fee varies by cam\u00adpus and sup\u00adports stu\u00addent gov\u00adern\u00admen\u00adtal activ\u00adi\u00adties. At Storrs, this fee also cov\u00aders the stu\u00addent year\u00adbook, stu\u00addent news\u00adpa\u00adper, Stu\u00addent Union, WHUS radio, and UConn TV fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accord\u00ading to the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty\u2019s fact sheet, this would mean that UConn, which has 32,906 stu\u00addents, gen\u00ader\u00adates approx\u00adi\u00admate\u00adly $133 mil\u00adlion in fees annu\u00adal\u00adly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Micheal E. Enright, UCon\u00adn\u2019s deputy spokesman, said these all help stu\u00addents dur\u00ading their years at UConn. \u201cLicens\u00ades with the var\u00adi\u00adous com\u00adpa\u00adnies, teacher pay, among oth\u00ader things (is there the mon\u00adey goes to). Every\u00adthing is pub\u00adlic; noth\u00ading is set in stone. A stu\u00addent ref\u00ader\u00aden\u00addum passed the Rec Cen\u00adter. The 132M sounds rea\u00adson\u00adable; every\u00adthing we pro\u00advide for stu\u00addents is not free. All of the mon\u00adey goes to sup\u00adport our stu\u00addents. More\u00adover, giv\u00ading out these fees is our way of being trans\u00adpar\u00adent with the stu\u00addents. We are mak\u00ading their expe\u00adri\u00adence at UConn bet\u00adter,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut the expe\u00adri\u00adence is not that great,\u201d said Kylie Heath, a fresh\u00adman major\u00ading in psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy. They take all that mon\u00adey from us, and dur\u00ading the UCon\u00adnic con\u00adcert, they could only get Swae Lee? It does not make sense.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even today, posters all over the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty cam\u00adpus show frus\u00adtrat\u00aded stu\u00addents crit\u00adi\u00adciz\u00ading the school for its tuition increase, which, accord\u00ading to an arti\u00adcle in the Mid\u00addle\u00adtown Press, is increas\u00ading again as it has every year in the 2010s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sam Moore, a senior, agrees with Wall and Heath about want\u00adi\u00adng trans\u00adparen\u00adcy about where the mon\u00adey is spent. \u201cI want to see this exact break\u00addown; it does not make sense. I would believe what they say if they showed me their receipts!\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accord\u00ading to UCon\u00adn\u2019s last bud\u00adget meet\u00ading, tuition fees are set to increase again in 2025. This news has left many stu\u00addents and par\u00adents won\u00adder\u00ading where the mon\u00adey goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just want to know. Aren\u2019t we a part of the same pack?\u201d Wall asked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STORRS \u2014 Where do uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty fees go? <\/p>\n
Alli\u00adson Wall, a junior at the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut and a nat\u00adur\u00adal resources and envi\u00adron\u00adment major, is one of many stu\u00addents grap\u00adpling with the esca\u00adlat\u00ading cost of high\u00ader edu\u00adca\u00adtion. As a state that ranks 46th in afford\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty nation\u00adwide, Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut pos\u00ades a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant finan\u00adcial chal\u00adlenge for stu\u00addents like Wall, striv\u00ading to achieve their aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic ambi\u00adtions. <\/p>\n
Wall said she works two jobs sev\u00aden days a week to sup\u00adport her\u00adself and is keen to under\u00adstand how her tuition fees are dis\u00adtrib\u00aduted. She wants to ensure that her invest\u00adment in her edu\u00adca\u00adtion is being uti\u00adlized effec\u00adtive\u00adly and hopes for greater trans\u00adparen\u00adcy in the allo\u00adca\u00adtion of her tuition dol\u00adlars. Like many stu\u00addents, Wall works often to finance her edu\u00adca\u00adtion and wants to ensure that her efforts trans\u00adlate into the best out\u00adcome. She wants to know where her mon\u00adey is going.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":993,"featured_media":55,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/files\/2024\/09\/Enright171102a055.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/993"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions\/108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaljournalism.uconn.edu\/kwasi-osei-amankwah-portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}