In 1996, effective for fall semester 1997, upon the recommendation of the Student Senate and the Student Government Association’s Undergraduate Academic Council, the board of trustees approved at its fall meeting, a Technology Fee of $12 per credit hour, with a $100 maximum per semester. Administrators indicated that the funds collected would enhance network and web access, as well as student support services. Funds were to be used to upgrade computer labs across campus, increase the amount and diversity of free software for students, and provide for the installation of computer technology in individual classrooms. The fee was a controversial topic but passed both SGA’s Student Senate and its Undergraduate Academic Council. Part of the controversy was that the fee was going to be taken to the board with or without the student recommendation. Dissenters also criticized the fee because it disproportionately benefitted residence hall students and for the fact that faculty and staff would enjoy the benefits the fee expenditures provided but would not contribute directly to their costs. Annual expenditures of fee revenues are considered by a broadly constituted board of students, faculty, and staff, with the goal of providing students access to up-to-date technology throughout the campus.
Written by Betsey B. Creekmore [Joshua Morrison contributed.]