eBill raises more questions than answers

By Luke Wright, Staff Writer

May 1, 2007 | 1:28 p.m.

Periodically, an e-mail is sent to Ohio University students’ mailboxes reminding them that their eBill is ready to be viewed. Upon opening, this eBill -- as informative and helpful as it can be -- has the tendency to be a bit hazy.

In light of this indistinctness, Sherry Downs, the Bursar for OU, summarized each section of the eBill to help clear up the ambiguity that clouds students from knowing where exactly their money is being implemented.

Board/Meal Plan Fee

“This fee, of course, pays for the meals you eat in the dining halls on campus,” Downs said. This is pretty straight forward. The school clearly needs some way to pay for the food it provides for students -- and yes, contrary to popular belief, they actually pay for that stuff. No real confusion here.

Residence Hall/Dormitory Fee

“This fee is basically your room rent for the quarter,” Downs said, “and the upkeep for those facilities.” Much like the previous fee, it is fairly simple for students to decipher where their money is headed once it is in the hands of the university. An interesting fact – one that might not be fully realized at first glance – is that according to Downs, “a portion of that money is also used for dormitory renovations,” including the renovation planned for Lincoln Hall next year and even the construction of the new dorm on South Green.

Student Legal Service Fee

The legal service fee is an odd one, but for some could be indispensable. “This is an optional fee that provides students an opportunity to discuss any legal matters with an attorney free of charge,” Downs said. So, if not planning on doing anything illegal, students could waive the $8 fee and buy a nice meal at Baker instead. Yet due to the recent crackdown on illegal file sharing, it is not recommended. Dish out the minuscule fee, forget the overpriced food at Baker, and go on with your day knowing that if you ever mess up, a lawyer will always be there to soften the blow.

Technology Fee

“There are several colleges on campus that have a tech fee,” Downs said, “and the colleges are responsible for determining how that money is spent.” So depending on whether students are communications or business majors, art fiends or calculus gurus, that money is going to a different place for every person. Because of this, it is rather difficult to tell exactly whose pocket the money is going into. If students are inclined to do so, however, they could discuss the subject with their respective dean, who is responsible for overseeing the disbursement of the tech fee.

Instructional Fee

“Instructional fees cover the cost of instruction: professors' salaries, benefits, etc.,” Downs said. For the most part, the instructional fee is what makes students’ Psychology 101 teacher get to class on time.

General Fee

The most vague of all fees is the aptly named general fee. With nothing more than that title and a dollar amount present, the question is begging to be asked: what is in the general fee?

“The general fee was historically called the student services fee, and it continues to be used to recover the cost of providing student services at Ohio University,” according to a rudimentary explanation found on OU’s bursar Web site.

The “student services” alluded to on the bursar’s Web site can be broken down, according to the Budget Planning Council’s (BPC) general fee breakdown estimates. The breakdown includes five predominant blocks: health, wellness and safety; athletics; student enrichment and campus life; events and locations that are partially funded by the general fee; and indirect general fee costs.

The blocks

Keep in mind that these numbers are all estimates, nothing more. Although the majority of the stated information will be present in the final draft, nothing is yet set in stone, and a few fees may be raised, lowered or completely left out of next year’s official general fee breakdown.

Health, wellness and safety

The BPC estimates nearly $8 million will be allocated to health, wellness and safety at OU. Student health services and campus recreation demand the highest percentage of that allocation at nearly $7 million per quarter.

Athletics

Athletics, despite the recent cuts of a select number of sports, commands a lion’s share of the general fee distribution. Close to $11 million is divvied up among the Convocation Center facility fees ($450,000), athletic scholarships ($4,051,050) and intercollegiate athletics ($6,271,953).

Student enrichment and campus life

The most comprehensive of all the blocks, student enrichment and campus life crams precisely $6.5 million dollars into 18 different subsections. Among these subsections are the Cultural Center ($84,028), Education Abroad ($239,577), Dean of Students ($299,601) and commencement ($137,365).

Enmeshed within these subsections is a rather new addition to student enrichment and campus life. A $60 fee has sprung up in recent years that can be traced back to the newly remade Baker Center. Since its inception, the higher-ups residing within Student Senate have decided to allocate $60 from every Athens-based OU student’s fee to go toward construction payments and upkeep of the new student center. Per quarter, the Baker Center utilizes nearly half of the $6,255,876 reserved for student enrichment activities and campus life endeavors.

Indirect general fee costs

Indirect general fee costs consist of graduate assistant fee waivers, employee fee waivers and space costs, which essentially deal with custodial, maintenance and utility fees. However indirect, it still totals nearly $700,000 per quarter – all taken from the pockets of OU students.

Funded partially by general fee

Some locations and certain activities are only partially funded by the general fee. Of these locations and activities, the Kennedy Lecture Series and the Galbreath Chapel are two of the most well-known. An interesting note: $24,000 of the $700,000 total is spent on a music-licensing fee bought by the university.

’Paying’ the college game

According to an in-state resident of OU living on-campus can expect to pay $8,727 for tuition and fees, with an additional $12,186 for room and board, books and supplies, personal expenses and, if applicable, transportation expenses. All tallied up that equals a dizzying bill just a few Taco Bell runs short of $21,000. Out-of-state residents can anticipate a much higher price tag for education, weighing somewhere between $29,000 and $30,000 annually.

So how does OU stack up to other universities in Ohio?

Ohio State, a favorite for many choosing to attend college in Ohio, commands a yearly fee of $20,076 for in-state students who live on campus. Out-of-state students will be taking a much harder hit to their wallet, something to the tune of $32,000.

Miami University, another public college notorious for gouging price hikes, demands $22,997 for tuition alone, no matter if the student resides in Oxford or travels from Bangalore, India. With an estimated $12,765 tacked on for supplementary necessities, MU students may need more then good grades to get through school; they may also need a job or two.

What about other states?

The state of Ohio is saturated with graduate and undergraduate scholars, entrenched in a struggle with the price one must pay for higher education. But what about other states’ plights? The University of Arizona, a college comparable in many ways to OU and Ohio State, asks its students for an in-state tuition, fees, and room and board just over $16,000 a year. With just short of a $4,000 yearly difference between the two schools – almost $16,000 in the four years it takes to complete a bachelors degree – one might wonder, what is it that makes Ohio State so much steeper in price?

OU is comparable to many colleges around the US and can stand among some of the greatest universities in this country. Yet, despite its credibility and stature as one of the oldest and most respected universities around, the astronomical price tag that comes with this credibility can be too overwhelming for some. Many students hope that someday, Ohio will follow the lead of so many other states and create a form of higher education that is attainable by members of all walks of life and economic conditions.