ASU trustees OK

tuition hike, fee

increase for 2008
By Caroline Monday
cmonday@mountaintimes.com

Football excitement was in the air, as the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees voted on tuition and fee increases and made plans for the university’s future.

The trustees gathered Friday, Dec. 7, for their regular board meeting and voted to increase tuition and student fees.

For in-state students, fees will be increased by $245, totaling at $7,630 for the 2008-09 academic year.

Tuition was increased by $42, bringing tuition costs to $2,263 per year for instate students next year. With combined fees and tuition costs, ASU students will pay $9,893 to attend the university next year.

The general fee increase will go, in part, toward a general athletic fee. The board voted to increase that fee, which benefits various athletic programs, by $40. Of that increase, $18 per student will go toward improvements (including seating expansion) on the east side of Kidd Brewer Stadium. This places the total amount of general fees spent on athletics at $529.

Interim vice chancellor of business affairs Greg Lovins noted that the school does not receive funds from the state for athletic programs.

Other increases will go toward the student union fee, book rental fees, transportation and subsistence fees. There were no increases in the indebtedness fee, a portion of which also goes toward athletic facility construction.

Lovins said the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors has placed a cap on the extent universities can increase their general fees. For ASU, the maximum increase is 2.6 percent for general fees, which these fee changes will not exceed.

The board also voted to seek approval from the UNC Board of Governors to issue up to $65 million in bonds, which will be used to finance construction at Kidd Brewer Stadium and Frank Residence Hall and to refinance bonds issued in 1998 to upgrade the campus’s utility system.

The planned construction at Kidd Brewer Stadium would increase seating on the east side of the stadium by 4,400 additional seats. It would also add new restrooms and concessions to that side of the stadium. The planned improvements to the stadium will come at a projected cost of $32 million. These funds will come from a combination of student fees, bonds and private contributions.

Vice chancellor of student development Cindy Wallace presented the final efforts of the UNC Campus Safety Task Force.

The task force was formed in response to the attack at Virginia Tech last spring.

Wallace said the group found that the campuses of the UNC System were relatively safe places to live, with crime rates much lower than the state as a whole.

She said the group also found that the safety needs of the different campuses across the state varied greatly, giving the example that ASU would have very different needs from those of a much larger school like N.C. State in Raleigh.

Wallace said the group also worked to balance the need for safety with the openness of campuses and the expectations of privacy from the people who live, work and study there.

The task force created a plan that incorporates prevention measures, such as training and the development of safety protocols and providing adequate mental health services.

She said training the creation of protocols and emergency operations plans would also play a part in responding to an violent situation. Emergency notifications and communication throughout the university will also enhance personnel’s ability to respond to an emergency situation.

The board commended Wallace and the task force for their work and voted to endorse the task force’s plan.