Technology fees
What are they and what they pay for

By Rena Bjerke · The Mainstream
Published February 22, 2011

Some students are voicing concerns about being billed a $5.50 per credit technology fee, while still not having access to technology that they believe they deserve.

Melody Jones, an archeology major, has had a problem with a slow internet connection that she says caused her to lose points on a presentation. “If I pay $5.50 per credit for technology, then why is the technology in the classroom lacking? I should not be losing points on grades because of bad technology when I pay for it.”

Jackie Reilly, a criminal justice major, says she brings her own laptop to school because there are not enough computers for students to use. “There is always a line and I feel rushed if I have to use a school computer. The internet connection is also slower on the school computers than it is on my laptop,” said Reilly.

Although the tuition at UCC is the lowest of any community college in Oregon, its technology fees are the second highest, second only to Clatsop County Community College which charges students $10 per credit.

Throughout Oregon’s community colleges, technology fees currently range from $2 per credit up to $10 per credit. Some institutions are assessing a flat fee while others are basing their fee on credit hours.

The lowest $2 per credit technology fees are at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Central Oregon Community College in Bend and Linn-Benton Community College in Albany.

The student technology fees are a popular way for colleges to create a steady, guaranteed stream of revenue for purposes that range from hardware to help desk support.

Nearly 70 percent of U.S. public universities require a mandatory student technology fee, and more than 50 percent of community colleges have such fees, according to the Center for Applied Research at North Carolina State University.

The current budget at UCC for technology fees for the 2010/2011 school year is $500,000. However, $200,000 of this is reserved for emergency use.

All requests to use money from the technology fees are brought before a committee where they are evaluated, prioritized and voted upon.

 A large portion of the money is allocated to recurring software and maintenance costs and keeping the lab current. Also paid for out of the technology fees are annual software licensing costs for all lab software, a percentage of Angel annual subscription costs, lab hardware upgrades (including library laptops and IPads), RAM and video cards, lab printing supplies, and technology requests made by faculty to enhance learning in the classroom.

“The technology committee’s job is to ascertain which technology requests are in the best interest of the students,” said Dennis Stutes, UCC’s IT (Information Technology) director, “we certainly don’t want to waste your hard earned money. The committee is devoted to the technical well being of the campus so students can complete their objectives and be competitive in today’s job market after graduation.”

The internet service provider is not paid for by technology fees. The cost for internet comes directly from IT’s operating budget.

Some resources available for student use are laptops and Ipads equipped with downloaded eBooks that can be checked out for three hours at a time in the library, wireless printing, fax machines, scanners, and at least 200 computers located throughout campus. Each student is provided their own unique email address as well.

According to EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology, there are definitely pros and cons to required technology fees. The advantage of such a fee is that it provides institutions with a defined reliable source of funds to be invested in technology to maintain or improve the quality of student computing. The drawbacks include the administrative overhead of executing the fee and the fact that institutions will never generate enough funds from a student technology fee to address all needs.