The Student Government Association criticized the College of Business and Technology on Tuesday for increasing tuition without student participation and adequate notification.
In an 18-0-1 vote, the SGA senators approved a resolution requesting the College of Business and Technology terminate a fee that has increased the cost of upper-level business courses by $20 per credit hour.
The fee was instituted last semester and has increased some students’ annual tuition by $600.
The resolution, sponsored by Senators Nathan Bays and Ethan Flynn, representatives of the College of Business and Technology, claimed the tuition increase was both unnecessary and unfair to business students.
Not so, said Linda Garceau, dean of the College of Business and Technology, in a statement issued Wednesday by e-mail:
“We believe the fee was approved for all of the right reasons. Many [educational] programs charge different fees – this is common in business, nursing and engineering programs. These are higher cost programs.”
However, after several private meetings with Garceau and Bert C. Bach, the Provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, Bays and Flynn were still not satisfied with the administration’s justification for the fee increase.
“One of the main reasons they gave us [for the fee increase] was that the college’s accreditation would be in trouble if tuition wasn’t raised,” said Bays.
“However, the college was in exemplary status in 2001, and the process doesn’t start again until 2006. I don’t understand how [accreditation issues] could be a factor,” said Bays.
Garceau disagreed.
“I would not have supported the fee proposal if I did not believe that our accreditation was in jeopardy.”
Garceau went on to explain that accreditation was “an incremental process” that required “concrete” planning over a period of several years.
Current accreditation planning, she said, began in 2000. “Investment in the quality of education cannot be done the year before accreditation occurs,” said Garceau.
While Garceau’s comments were helpful, they were not presented to the SGA in time for the vote on the resolution.
Technically, though, the resolution hasn’t passed yet because President Jarrod Suits has not signed off on it. Even if passed, the resolution will not guarantee a decrease in the $20-per-credit-hour fee.
Suits will delay passage of the resolution until next week when Bach and Garceau can address the SGA.
“I have to make sure [the senators] hear the other side of the story before they vote again. They’ve only heard one side so far,” said Suits.
Suits went on to say, however, that communication was the key factor.
If the administration still failed to address the SGA directly, said Suits, then the senators should vote accordingly.
“It’s their opportunity to either show themselves to you or not,” said Suits.
“As of now, the entire Senate is in favor of this [resolution], so they know what they’re up against.”
Other business that took place included the shifting of committee membership. There was a shortage of members on the 606 committee, so senators were moved from various other groups.
Also, freshman Adam Bain was sworn in as an associate justice by Chief Justice Aaron Fielden.

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