Small Town News

Eastern trustees approve fee and policy changes

---

Student services and activities fee raised by 5 percent; distribution process will now be based on merit

Fees and policies were the only action items voted on by Eastern Washington University's board of trustees at their May 19 meeting.

The board approved changes to the student services and activities fee brought forward by the S and A Fee Committee. The recommendations presented to the board by Associated Students finance vice president and committee chair Patrick Spanner and ASEWU out-going president Justin Terry featured a 5 percent fee increase for fiscal year 2011-2012 and a change in the fee distribution process from a percentage to an evaluation of each budget proposal's merits.

The board also approved the recommended fee distributions, one-time distributions and spending authority for budget reserves through S and A review during the year. The committee projected total uses for the fees in the coming year to be $8, 741, 364, with the top four funds being athletics at

47 percent ($2, 056, 021), recreation at 16 percent ($703, 883), ASEWU at 14 percent ($607, 388) and Student Life at 9 percent ($394, 622).

Funding was also set aside for the arts, accounting and administrative costs, CARE, childcare, the Easterner and the Pence Union Building repair and replacement account. Onetime funding in the amount of $356, 000 included moving $149, 500 to reserves along with band uniforms, two buses and an SUV.

The trustees also received a report on the fiscal health and disbursement activities of the student technology fee. According to the report from EWU chief information officer Dr(. Gary Pratt, customer support services director Greg Crary and ASEWU student technology fee committee chair Jordan Poulos the fund is financially stable, with an average of 10, 083 student paying the fee on a quarterly basis over 2010-2011.

The funds help provide a number of technology related

items such as Internet access and student email accounts for patrons, fund renewal of several Eastern general and open access student computing labs and services along with other technology initiatives.

Account revenues totaled $1, 555, 090, of which $1, 022, 000 was collected in 2010-2011, with expenses matching, including $100, 000 in recommended carry forward. The committee considered funding requests for $1, 519, 000, making awards for one half renewal of equipment in the general access computer labs, funding for technology services and operating costs, upgrades to departmental computer labs and many computer classrooms, investment in student collaboration, community technologies and services and funding for new and continued tech fee initiatives.

The awards were given out in a defined process and included a lot of work by the committee over the course of the fiscal year.

"We're doing our work, it's just not necessarily right here," academic affairs trustee committee chair Mark Mays said.

The committee projects approximately $1, 016, 000 in fee revenue for 2011-2012, using an annualized university head count of 10, 036 and 9, 775 full-time equivalent students. Trustee member Jo Ann Kauffman said it was important to note that technology fees are not the same as S and A fees that go to various clubs and organizations.

"The guiding emphasis of the tech fee is to assist students across the board," she said.

The board gave its support for upcoming tech fee awards that help continue Internet access and email, maintaining labs at the PUB and Riverpoint, continuing service and operational costs and new initiatives.

Finally the board approved a policy governing the use of social networking. Associate to the president Laurie Connolly noted that the policy clarifies concerns raised by the faculty about the use of instructional sites often used to support teaching and learning activities.

"Can we Tweet our vote," Kauffman said prior to the vote.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.



Copyright 2011 Cheney Free Press, Cheney, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 Cheney Free Press Cheney, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from Cheney Free Press