MSA Senate recommends fee decrease

The committee recommended a decrease of 25 cents to $1.70.

By Eva Dou

Published Dec. 11, 2008

Correction appended

After 18 years of rising student fees, the Missouri Students Association Senate wants the trend to stop.

This week the committee recommended a student fee decrease of 25 cents to $1.70, depending on inflation, for the next fiscal year. It hopes to reverse a trend of fee increases dating back to 1991.

The Senate passed the recommendation on Wednesday, confirming broader student approval of the proposal. The Student Fee Review Committee will consider whether to adopt the Senate's recommendations.

SFRC Chairwoman Gwen Daniels said members were committed this year to keeping fees as low as possible for students, especially with the dreary economy in the backdrop.

"I really think that over the course of the semester, everyone got even more against big increases, as the economy got worse," Daniels said. "Hearing about how my tuition could go up so much was also a factor."

Senate Speaker Jonathan Mays said the recommendation went beyond a simple reflection of the economic times, tapping into students' philosophy of fiscal accountability.

"This is not a knee-jerk reaction to changes in tuition or state funding or to the economy," Mays said. "It is a culmination of our efforts in the last year to be more responsible with student fees."

Last week, MSA passed legislation requiring the submission of detailed budgets by any group seeking a fee boost, even an inflationary increase.

Mays said he was especially pleased that even with overall fee reductions, the Counseling Center would still get funding for an additional full-time mental health professional. 

In SFRC's proposals, reductions in the student fees for MSA and the Associated Students of the University of Missouri would help fund above-inflation increases for the Counseling Center and Club Sports, Mays said.

When the Board of Curators makes final budget decisions in the spring, it will consider SFRC's and MSA's recommendations for student fee adjustments for 29 MU organizations and divisional councils. These individual fees compose the overall student fee.

This year's student fee is $290.94, which is an 18 percent increase from last year. The fee has not seen a decrease since 1985.

The actual amount of the proposed fee decrease will depend on November's Consumer Price Indexes, to be released on Dec. 16.