The final round of hearings for the Student Fees Advisory Committee took place Monday with deliberations over the various presentations made and whether fees should continue to be increased.
Upcoming budget cuts for fiscal year 2011-2012 were also a concern for the committee.
“Let me just say this budget cut is a serious thing, because when those numbers come, we’re going to have to decide what to do,” Elwyn Lee, vice president of student affairs, said.
At the end of Monday’s hearing, Lee gave recommendation to the committee regarding every presentation made over the hearings.
Learning and Assessment Services continued the trend of increased fund requests presented throughout the four days of hearings.
The department, which conducts campus surveys and collaborates with other departments in research, requested $68,052 with a base augmentation, or increase, of $60,287.
Learning Support Services requested a budget increase of $66,284 in addition to a base request of $472,235.
LSS provides tutors in over 150 courses to students in an effort to increase graduation and retention rates for the University.
“Having opened the Living Learning site at Cougar Village, we have had to increase our number of tutors and total tutoring hours,” the official presentation stated. “The demand for learning strategies counseling and workshops has also increased.”
UH Wellness requested a total of $226,164 in funds from the committee, with $20,355 of that being in the form of a budget increase.
“There is no other unit that provides a comprehensive wellness education and prevention program for the University,” the report stated. “Additionally, Wellness serves as a center of information and coordination for university wellness-related programs.”
The Urban Experience Program, made an increase of $4,195 from its request last year, $2,466 of which was in the form of a budget increase.
The presentation included testimony from Crystal Johnson, a 2008 UH graduate who succeeded with the help of the program.
“The housing assistance, tutoring and financial assistance that was provided to me by UEP is the sole reason why I was able to attend college,” Johnson said. “There will be more students like myself with great potential that need the type of assistance that UEP has to offer.”
The Veterans’ Services Office requested $102,748, with $45,848 in budget increase.
The VSO predicts 25 percent more veterans are anticipated to go into higher education and anticipates a staff increase because of this.
“Because of staffing and budget restraints, VSO was unable to get further staff for our concept of the one-stop-shop (for veteran students).”
The Central Business Office of UH’s Division of Student Affairs, which conducts training for various student organizations, requested $114,004 in student fees, the same as last year’s request.
The division also requested a base augmentation of $3,639.
SFAC, according to the CBO report, provides funding for two full-time staff positions, two half-time student assitants and other administrative charges.
