DeKALB | The Board of Trustees’ Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee voted Thursday in unanimous approval for increases in students fees and room rates to start in fall semester 2012.

The committee approved recommendations that NIU President John Peters will present to the Board of Trustees during the board’s next meeting March 24. The BOT will vote on whether to officially approve the increases at that time.

Fee Increases

The recommended student fee increases total about $55 per semester per undergraduate, graduate or professional student enrolled in 12 or more credit hours.

Student fees are paid on a per-credit-hour basis, but are required of all students with the exception of the health insurance fee, which can be waived if they show proof of outside insurance.

Fee Breakdown

Recommended fee increases were in the categories of activity, athletics, bond revenue, bus, health insurance, health service and grants-in-aid.

The activity fee supports student organizations and is disbursed at the discretion of the Student Association, according to the Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee agenda booklet. The fee increase is needed to support allocations to student organizations, staff raises and additional staff.

The athletic fee is the primary source of fiscal support for NIU’s 16 sports. The increases are needed to “address general operating costs increases,” according to the agenda booklet.

Revenue bond fees support projects that have been funded by the issue of bonds. The bond facility fee supports the Holmes Student Center, Campus Recreation Center, Chick Evans Field House, Huskie Stadium and the Convocation Center. The west campus fee supports improvements to west campus buildings and will decrease. The increase in the bond facility fee is needed for minor operating cost increases, debt repayment and salary increases.

The bus fee supports the Huskie Bus Line. A fee increase is needed to meet contract obligations, upgrade the GPS system and to put aside reserve funds.

An increase to the health insurance fee will fund the added coverage for sexually transmitted disease testing at NIU Health Services and coverage of transgender costs excluding gender assignment surgery.

The health insurance fee increase is needed to fund rising operating costs and increasing marketing activities in Health Enhancement. The increase is also needed to fund federally-mandated services provided by the Center for Access-Ability Resources, which were funded before by the Department of Rehabilitation Services.

The grants-in-aid fee funds the University Scholar and Academic Finalist Awards Program, which is scholarship-based financial aid. Fee increases will allow more scholarships to be awarded and to replace other sources of grant funding that have been reduced.

Fees for which increases were not recommended were the student-to-student grant fee, which supports need-based financial aid; the law fee, which is only required for College of Law students and the graduate colloquium fee, which is only required of graduate students.

Committee Member Reactions

Eddie Williams, executive vice president for finance and facilities and chief of operations, said access to higher education through affordability is important to NIU.

“Affordability is one of our major goals…even though the cost and other impacts beyond our control are involved in establishing the fees,” Williams said.

Student trustee Robert Sorsby voted in favor of the recommendation for fee increases. Sorsby said he was concerned about the fee increases for athletics, health insurance and mass transit because those percent changes were especially high.

Sorsby said he spoke with Peters and Williams before the meeting and was satisfied with the reasons for the increases.

“I think they’re doing a great fiscal job that’s cost effective for each student,” Sorsby said.

Room Rates

Only students who live in NIU residence halls pay room rates. The Committee recommended room rate increases of $196 to $290 per student per semester, depending on where and in what type of room the student lives.

There were no proposed changes to board rates.

Williams said the room rate changes are needed to finance the increasing cost of utilities and to store reserves for future projects and maintenance. The funds are also needed to support the installation of sprinkler systems in all of the residence halls. The state mandates all university residence halls have sprinklers but does not fund this requirement, he said.

A committee made up of student representatives from the Residence Hall Association and residence hall staff initially reviewed and recommended the room and board rates, Williams said.

Campus Editor Shaun Zinck contributed to this article.