Beginning this fall, students will pay an extra $245 per semester for Academic Excellence.
The fee, which is not covered by TOPS for Louisiana students, was increased during the summer from the previous $125 fee per semester. Some students, however, may be eligible for financial aid to help defray the expense.
According to a previous Reveille article, the University expects to generate about $6.3 million in revenue from the fee, and plans to use the money for a wide variety of projects, including hiring more faculty, creating a faculty pay raise and academic intiatives.
Jason Droddy, Chancellor’s Office coordinator for education leadership and research, said about $2 million from the fee would be used to hire new faculty and create more course sections, allowing for smaller class sizes. The University hopes to hire 25 to 30 new full-time faculty members.
While Droddy said the University has not singled out any particular departments for faculty increases, he said those areas with highest student demand for courses would probably see more faculty members.
“Students see when they schedule classes which ones are in the highest demand,” Droddy said.
Droddy said about $3 million generated from the excellence fee will be used for a faculty pay increase. Faculty just received a 3 percent increase July 1.
Another of the University’s major uses for the fee is increasing the number of graduate assistantships offered. Droddy said about $500,000 from the fee would be used to increase the number of assistantships.
“A graduate assistantship is a position for a graduate student to do research or teaching,” Droddy said. “They’re meant to provide an incentive for good graduate students.”
Droddy said graduate assistants aid in faculty research and sometimes help with classroom instruction as well.
Droddy said while the University currently has about 2,800 assistantships, that number is not competitive with similar universities.
“There’s not really a set number we’d like to have, but we’d like to beef them up to make them more competitive,” Droddy said.
Droddy said another $500,000 from the fee would be used to recruit students eligible for TOPS, provide more support to the Honors College and residential colleges, expand the freshmen orientation program and hire more tutors and academic counselors.
“Basically we want to increase overall academic support,” Droddy said.
Droddy said specific dollar amounts have not been allotted to any of the undergraduate initiatives, and it would be up to separate deans and department heads to determine specific areas of need.
However, Droddy said the University would like to expand the freshman orientation program to let new students know what is expected of them as a college student and also offer tips on college life.
Droddy said aid may be available to students to help defray the fee in cases of financial hardship. Droddy said students who feel they may be eligible for financial aid should contact the Office of Student Aid and Scholarships for more information.