A plan to use student fee dollars to make up for a budget shortfall at North Dakota State University was stopped Thursday.
At an open forum Thursday morning, President Dick Hanson said the university "got backed into a situation" where some departments had to direct program fee dollars toward a budget deficit.
However, later on Thursday, Budget Director Karla Mongeon-Stewart said using program fees for the deficit as some departments proposed would be against state Board of Higher Education policy.
"Program fee revenue must be allocated for the primary benefit of students enrolled in that program," the policy states.
Program fees are charged to students within particular programs that have exceptional costs, such as expensive technology or equipment. The fees add hundreds to thousands of dollars to a student's tuition bill.
ADVERTISEMENT
The issue raised concerns among NDSU student leaders in recent weeks after students in the College of Engineering and Architecture learned some program fees would be used toward the deficit.
Hanson wrote in an e-mail late Thursday to student body president Amber Altstadt that the departments that planned to use program fees toward the deficit would need to find other sources.
Due to a $2.5 million budget shortfall, NDSU departments were asked to cut 10 percent of their operating budgets, which comes from money appropriated by the state.
NDSU departments also were asked to trim 4 percent from their "local fund" budgets, which includes student program fee money.
Alan Kallmeyer, chairman of the mechanical engineering department, said his department planned to direct just under $10,000 from student fees toward the deficit. It would have been used to attract new faculty.
The department had limited options for making up that 4 percent, he said.
"We did not have enough funds in our unrestricted accounts to be able to cover that amount," Kallmeyer said.
Students were consulted about that decision, and it was supported unanimously from the mechanical engineering student advisory committee.
ADVERTISEMENT
Other departments also proposed using program fee dollars, Mongeon-Stewart said.
Kevin Black, vice chairman of the student senate, wrote a letter to Dean Gary Smith expressing "immense disappointment and disapproval" that students were essentially being taxed for failures in the system.
"By no means are we looking to place blame or go on a rant, we just want to make sure we're communicating that we don't feel this is acceptable," said Black, an industrial and manufacturing engineering major.
Altstadt said she also had a meeting with Hanson, expressing that NDSU "do what we need to do to balance the budget, but with the least amount of impact on students."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Amy Dalrymple at (701) 241-5590
