Megan Hazuga-
When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced his proposal for the 2017-2019 UW–System budget, he recommended that students would have the option to not pay, or “opt-out” of allocable segregated fees. However, it seems that many students lack an understanding of what these fees include. An exploration of what these fees mean to campus seemed necessary.
Taken from the UW–System website, “Segregated University Fees (SUF or seg-fee’s), describes charges in addition to instructional fees assessed to all students for services, programs and facilities that support the primary mission of the university.” These fees and what they fund also vary from one school to the next. These fees are small dollar amounts added onto tuition, per the service that it is going for. For example, students may pay .50 cents per credit, per semester, for a specific service that is offered.
Additionally, there are allocable seg fees and non-allocable seg-fees. The UW–System website defines allocable fees as things that provide substantial support for campus student activities and services. For Stout, these include funding for various student organizations, free events and resources for internship opportunities. Non-allocable fees are used to support long-term commitments for fixed financial obligations, ongoing operating costs of university owned or controlled buildings. Non-allocable fees will fund things such as the Memorial Student Center, recreational sport facilities and student health services.
Even though segregated fees don’t pay for direct educational resources, they are a valuable part of this campus. Taking this funding away could result in lack of funding for student organizations, fewer free events and less connections for internships.
For more information, visit the UW–System website.