The Student Technology Fee has become an expected part of a student’s fee bill each semester, but many students may not know where that money goes.
Jason Wesley, student body vice president and tech fee committee member, hopes a forum about the fee today will clear up any questions or curiosities.
“The Tech Fee is to aid education, and each college has an opportunity to put proposals to the committee,” Wesley said. “All students and professors need to know how the process occurs. And also if they find any flaws or have questions, they should let us know.”
The Technology Fee is a $5 charge per credit hour up to 15 hours enacted by Student Government in 1997.
Wesley said the fee has gone under the radar in the past few years. New students and faculty may not know what it is or how they can use it to their advantage.
Allen Richey, student body president and tech fee committee member, said he does not see the fee rising because he does not think the cost of technology will rise. He said the fee has made it possible for the University to buy various technological equipment such as projectors and screens for classrooms.
“One example of something the tech fee has paid for is a new tiger storage base software, known as ‘Tiger Bytes,'” Richey said. “[Students] pay for the Tech Fee, so I think they need an explanation of where the money is going and how it’s improving education.”
He said the money also provides the University with its public access computer labs, like the ones in Middleton and CEBA.
Richey said the committee receives funding proposals from different departments, but not all requests are granted.
“One year we got a request for a calcium calibrator that could determine the calcium rate in cows,” he said. “I’m sure it would have been very helpful to the students who would use it, but it ultimately didn’t get funded because we ran out of money.”
Jerry Baudin, Financial and Administration Services vice chancellor, said the purpose of the forum is to give faculty and students a chance to understand how the process works.
“Faculty can submit discipline-specific proposals starting next month,” Baudin said. “It could be anything from hardware or software for a certain department to technology for a research project.”
The University and Tech Fee Committee has approved millions in funding to various projects and requests to departments and plans to spend more than $3 million for the 2003 – 2004 academic year, according to data from the Tech Fee Web site.