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News

Lee: Higher fee could fund SFAC requests

Cougar News Staff

The Student Service Fee will need to be raised by $10 to fund all the requests made by fee-supported groups this spring, Vice President for Student Affairs Elwyn C. Lee told the Student Fees Advisory Committee on Tuesday.

Lee said the fee would need to be increased to $160 to allow full funding for all groups and categorized the requests based on his priorities at the end of the final day of SFAC hearings. His remarks were meant to advise the committee as it enters its deliberation period.

In Lee's top-priority group were University Career Services and the Student Needs Assessment, a survey that will be conducted in the fall to find out whether students' needs in a variety of areas, from housing to course availability to internship opportunities, are being met.

"This (survey) came out of SFAC," Patrick Daniel, director of Learning and Assessment Services, told the committee Tuesday. "We list all of the units and ask people, ‘Do you use this service?' We get that from SFAC so SFAC has some data to look at."

Last year, the SFAC reduced UCS' funding by $22,500, or 21 percent, which officials said put "extreme pressure" on the office's operations and forced the reduction of some services.

UCS asked for $742,716 this year, $33,307 more than its 2004 request.

Among the organizations in Lee's second priority group were the Academic Achievers and Urban Experience programs. The programs, which help high school students make the transition to college, requested a combined $151,648.

Both programs asked for budget augmentations to fund salaried office positions.

"Fund them both (this year), and apart from mandated salaries, don't fund them in the future," Lee suggested to the committee.

Also in that category was the Frontier Fiesta Association, which asked for $16,800 for renting storage space on top of its $55,262 base request.

"I'm a big supporter of Frontier Fiesta," Lee said. "It's probably the biggest tradition at UH, (and) we're looking for traditions."

In Lee's third category of priorities were groups like the University Bands and Spirit Teams, the Forensic Society and the Veterans Services Office.

The band asked for $278,400, which is $107,000 more than it received from last year's SFAC. The bulk of the increase would help fund travel for the bands, cheerleaders and mascots, according to the group's funding request.

Lee said he didn't believe the students on campus would benefit from an increased travel budget for the band.

As for the Forensic Society's request for $62,000 for its director's salary, Lee said the group might be able to share that cost with the Houston Independent School District or get a graduate student to serve as a campus coordinator.

The debate team's director, Michael Fain, now serves on a volunteer basis. The group's overall request was $165,267.

Veterans Services asked for a $43,000 budget augmentation to help fund the program director's salary, but Lee did not recommend giving the VSO the additional funds.

Making SFAC presentations Tuesday, the final day of this spring's fee hearings, was Learning Support Services, which asked for $444,308; UH Wellness, which requested $186,083; and the Central Business Office, which asked for $59,644.

The SFAC will now begin deliberations on how to allocate the student fee revenue and will pass its final recommendations to UH President Jay Gogue for approval.

With reporting by Portia-Elaine Gant, Jennifer Jackson and Jessica Robertson.
 

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