Regents Approve Changes To Student Fee Policy

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) today (January 12) approved five major revisions to its mandatory student fee policy; changes that give clear direction of the purpose of such fees and how such fees are developed, approved and applied.

First, the regents inserted a statement on the philosophy behind student fees: “student fee revenues are to be used exclusively to support the institution’s mission to enrich the educational, institutional and cultural experience of students.”

The four additional revisions are:

Student-fee advisory committees should be comprised of at least four students to encourage broad participation in the fee process (the current policy required 50 percent student committee membership);
An institution’s five-year plan for each of its auxiliary-enterprise operations should provide for adequate reserves (associated with mandatory student fees) for the continued viability of the programs;
Board approval is required for any fee or charge that is mandatory for all full-time undergraduate students or all undergraduate students in a specific degree program. All other elective fees will continue to be approved by USG presidents; and
Specific course fees for supplementary materials shall be approved by USG presidents (this is a clarification of the definition of course fees).
“Student fees enrich the college experience for students by funding programs and services that help to build relationships between students and their institution,” Usha Ramachandran, vice chancellor for fiscal affairs, said in presenting the proposed mandatory fee revisions to the regents. “Mandatory fees also help our campuses meet the high expectations students have for certain levels of service.”

The revisions were prompted by an ongoing effort within the University System to review and update all Board policies. Other areas previously reviewed and updated include business and ethics policies.

Mandatory fees are fees charged to all students at an institution and which cover the cost of specific services provided for students that are outside the academic programs covered by tuition. For example, such fees cover student activities, technology, intercollegiate athletics programs, healthcare, parking and transportation, and new facilities. In Fiscal Year 2009, mandatory student fees across the USG totaled $280 million. Many of the fees cover the System’s auxiliary services, which must be self-supporting and cannot be funded through state appropriations.

All mandatory student fees go through an inclusive development, vetting and approval process, Ramachandran said. Such fees begin with an institutional student-fee committee, followed by a request for the fee from the institutional president to the regents’ staff. Following staff review, fees that pass muster are recommended for approval to the chancellor, who then brings them to the full board for regents’ approval. No mandatory fee can be charged without final regents’ approval.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage

Governor Perdue, Georgia Lottery Officials Announce Milestone Achievement

Today (July 15, 2008) Governor Sonny Perdue joined Georgia Lottery Corporation President and CEO Margaret DeFrancisco at Georgia Lottery headquarters to announce that it has transferred a total of $10 billion for education to the state of Georgia since the lottery’s inception in 1993.

“Today, we mark $10 billion in total that the Georgia Lottery has contributed to education in Georgia since it was launched in 1993,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “In those fifteen years, we’ve seen record payouts, record ticket sales and, now, this staggering contribution to the future of Georgia’s children and our state as a whole.”

The Georgia Lottery has experienced extraordinary success as one of only two traditional lotteries in the nation to experience 10 consecutive years of growth in profits.

“The Georgia Lottery Corporation has a success formula that works and delivers results for Georgia’s students and families,” DeFrancisco said. “Lottery-funded HOPE Scholarships and Pre-K Programs have made a fundamental difference in the lives of so many Georgians. The transfer of our $10 billionth dollar to education is a tremendous accomplishment that we can all celebrate.”

DeFrancisco presented Governor Perdue with an oversized check for $10 billion made payable to “Georgia Students” during today’s ceremony.

The Georgia Lottery’s fiscal year 2008 profits transferred to the State Treasury’s Lottery for Education Account amount to $858,355,000, surpassing last year’s record transfer by more than $4.8 million.

Georgia Lottery sales for fiscal year 2008, which spanned from July 1, 2007 to June, 30, 2008, totaled $3,519,341,000 – the highest in the lottery’s 15-year history and more than $97.6 million ahead of the previous sales record of $3.42 billion in fiscal year 2007.

The mission of the Georgia Lottery Corporation is to raise revenue for education in Georgia. Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned over $10.1 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Prekindergarten Program. More than 1 million students have received HOPE, and more than 860,000 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.