Financial cutbacks - both for students and the college - were on the minds of the president and those quizzing the president at Utah Valley State College Wednesday.
Kerry Romesburg, on the hot seat at the "Ask the Prez Forum," said he's aware of unhappiness with an increasing number of course fees, coupled with impending federal cuts in student aid."I want to be honest about the costs," said the president. "And these are hidden costs we're not being honest about." Romesburg said a recent audit of departmental spending shows that fees collected for course costs are being spent for items that should be paid for in other ways.
Students are being asked to come up with as much as $56 extra in course fees per semester, said Romesburg, who noted that he could remember when a $5 rent increase would force him to move.
He said various departments started charging course fees to cover costs that could not be met within their tightly restricted budgets.
"Over time, the course fees have come to a total of almost $500,000. Some of that is very, very legitimate, all of it is justifiable. The departments have done what they had to do, but I can tell you there is a lot of non-policy expenditure. Those will stop because they are a violation of policy," he said.
But course fees cannot simply be eliminated, not even fees for the lecture courses, if they represent a large percentage of the college budget.
"There isn't a $500,000 cushion. There just isn't," said Romesburg. "Nobody's getting rich out of this." He said one option might be to raise everyone's registration fee by $20 or so a semester but that would unfairly penalize students who don't take the courses with heavier costs, such as the computer science program.
"I just think we should be honest about the costs of attending the college," he said.
He explained that as the college has grown, funding for course study has not been increased while teachers and staff have had 10 years of cost-of-living increases and the number of students has doubled and tripled.
Romesburg said a number of inequities keep the college asking the students to bear the burden of subsidizing increased costs. And with the newly approved state budget for higher education, it will only get worse, he said.
The college's semester system also makes it hard to match federal disbursements with the fiscal year deadlines, leaving summer students without any options for assistance.
Out-of-state students pay 31/2 times what a Utahn pays, but that money is put into the general budget and is offset by what is then subtracted by the state for their share, he said.
He said the future for student financial aid - in the form of continued grants - looks "devastated" and what is left available will be as loans.
"The bad news is, there will be a real reduction in aid," said Romesburg. "I wish I could tell you something more hopeful." The reduction in grants will put more pressure on private donors and increase the competition for other types of scholarships, he said.
He, along with other administrators at the forum, urged students to protest to their federal legislators. "You can make a huge difference," said Romesburg.
Romesburg said what looks like frivolous expenditure at the college, such as big-screen televisions for the student lounge areas, are actually gifts and donations that are welcome, but not paid for with operating funds. He said some problems, such as overscheduling of the ballroom, will be resolved when the new Special Events Center is completed.
Other problems, particularly financial stress, will be ongoing, he said.