Campus Quality Fee Appendix F.1

CAMPUS QUALITY FEE PROPOSAL
ALTERNATIVE CONSULTATION INFORMATION PAMPHLET

APRIL 1 – 30, 2008

Our University Mission statement says:

"California State University, Northridge exists to enable students to realize their educational goals. The University’s first priority is to promote the welfare and intellectual progress of studen..."

Hence, the student experience and the quality of instruction are greatly influenced by instructionally-related activities, the availability of support services, and the spirit of the campus. During the past several years the university’s ability to sustain quality opportunities and services has been challenged by increasing utilization of services, while funding has trailed actual costs. The university vice presidents have studied this situation and propose a new student fee be considered to ensure the quality of students' experience.

ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

Course Specific Fees

While nearly 70% of undergraduate students will eventually take one or more courses for which a "lab fee" or "supplies and material" fee is assessed; close to 33% of all undergraduate students report paying such course-specific fees not just now and then, but every semester. The majority of students paying course-specific fees report paying more than $25.00 per semester in lab and material fees. The $300,000 in fees collected does not cover the $1,000,000 in costs associated with labs, materials, and supplies used in instruction because these fees have not been increased to keep pace with increasing costs. Insufficient funding means in order to pay for the necessary labs, materials, and supplies, the academic departments offer 40-50 fewer course sections of 20 or more students in each section. Without the additional funding provided through the Campus Quality Fee, consideration of course-specific fee increases will be necessary. The proposed fee will eliminate coursespecific fees while providing improvements in course related equipment and materials and allow for more course sections to be offered.

Advancements in Technology

Students have benefited by having technology available in their classrooms, in their lab study areas, and through access to web-based services. Examples include the myNorthridge portal, email, labs, wireless, and SOLAR. The University is expected to "keep up" with the latest technology advancements supporting communication, classroom instruction, and business practices. The university’s ability to stay current and provide services is challenged by the volume of new technologies. Without new funds we will be forced to increasingly use older technologies rather than the latest and best.

Instructionally Related Activities (IRA)

Because the university is not funded to support experiences and activities that supplement classroom instruction that are vital to the quality of the learning experience, CSUN established an IRA fee in 1979 of $15.00 per semester. The fee has not been raised in nearly 30 years. Students are increasingly paying out-of- pocket to participate in these important learning opportunities.

Each year the IRA Board receives two times more requests for funds than are available. As a result, the allocation to activities such as music performance groups, engineering projects, Model United Nations, Daily Sundial, cinema projects, and nearly 90 others receive fewer dollars each year. Nearly 50% of CSUN undergraduate students are involved either directly or indirectly with instructionally related activities. Without additional funding the quality of the instructionally related experiences will diminish as will the number of students who have the opportunity to participate.

Student Support Services

Success in college requires good advising, personal counseling, help with choosing a career, tutoring, and friendly services. But right now, CSUN does not have funds to meet the ever-increasing demand for these important services that aid students in managing the challenges of college life. Regardless of the nature of the service, the one thing they have in common is a commitment to student success. The availability of services has not kept pace with increasing student desire to use the services. This means students face long waits to see advisors and counselors. I means that service hours are insufficient. It means students don’t receive the assistance they need. This situation will only worsen without new funds dedicated to serving students.

Campus Spirit/Athletics

Nearly 75% of students questioned recently about CSUN athletics wanted CSUN to be more competitive. Unfortunately, we often compete against others who have better resources and CSUN student athletes are at a disadvantage when compared to most of their peers. In fact, some CSUN teams have had to set up before they practice, purchase their own equipment, and stay with family or friends when away competing because funds are not available to pay for hotel rooms.

CSUN student athletes are dedicated to their sport and to representing CSUN to the best of their ability. However, the reduction in student athlete scholarship funds combined with increased cost of attendance has resulted in the university’s inability to meet our obligations to our student athletes. With additional financial support for student athletes and the athletic program we can build more campus spirit.

PROPOSAL

To establish the Campus Quality Fee and phase in a $100 per semester over three years to provide the resources to meet the needs identified above.

The proposed fee schedule is as follows:

• Fiscal year 2008/09 $25 increase per semester, to a total of $50
• Fiscal year 2009/10 $15 increase per semester, to a total of $80
• Fiscal year 2010/11 $10 increase per semester, to a total of $100

To accommodate inflation and provide operational stability, beginning in 2011/12, we will be increasing the fee by $2/year with the resulting 60% calculation applied to summer term (Table 1).

The approximate fee use percentage by year three:

• Course Fees 14%
• Advancements in Technology 27%
• Instructionally Related Activities*IRA-type support*
• Student support services 14%
• Student allocation 3%
• Campus spirit/Athletics 14%
• Athletic scholarships 22%
• Athletic equipment & facilities 6%

*as noted in a footnote within the Monetary Impact Analysis Statement (Table 2), IRA Fund will receive $1,000,000 from Associated Students when AS no longer has to fund Athletic scholarships.

Projected headcount is factored at 2% growth for 2008/09 through 2010/11 and then 1% growth factor from 2011/12 and 2012/13