Students will be paying more for a University education next fall, thanks to fee and tuition increases.
According to a broadcast e-mail sent to students Wednesday, full-time students will pay an additional $212 per semester in tuition and fees beginning this fall.
This amount includes a $52 per semester tuition increase, a $120 increase to the Academic Excellence Fee, a $10 increase in the Union maintenance fee and a $30 energy surcharge fee.
Chancellor Mark Emmert said the tuition increase has been in the works for a while. The state legislature authorized universities to raise tuition rates.
Emmert said funds raised from the tuition increase go toward the general cost of running the University, not extra initiatives.
“That’s been anticipated for quite some time,” Emmert said.
Emmert said the Academic Excellence Fee increase only has been in consideration since late May or early June. The fee will be used for such initiatives as hiring new faculty, providing more graduate assistantships and providing more technical support in classrooms.
Students approved the Union fee this past Spring semester, and it will be used for renovations to the building, Emmert said.
Union director Shirley Plakidas said funds generated from the fee will be used for renovation projects such as adding 50,000 square feet of space, much of which will be dedicated to student organizations, creating more space in the Tiger Lair and renovating the theater.
Peter Davidson, Energy Services director, said students are paying more because of a substantial increase in energy rates over the past year, particularly in gas and electricity.
“The cost on the Baton Rouge campus is forecasted to be a $950,000 increase from last year,” Davidson said. “That is only for utility rates, not for new facilities.”