UNIVERSITY MAY ENACT COMPUTER FEE IN '94

The computer age may soon give rise to the computer fee at Southeast Missouri State University.

A university committee has recommended the school adopt a $2-per-credit-hour fee, effective with the start of the fall 1994 semester.

For a full-time student, the fee would amount to another $30-a-semester charge on the ever-increasing tier of student fees.

It's estimated the fee would gross about $240,000 for the university per semester, more than doubling the current $200,000 spent on funding the campus computer labs.

The money would be used to purchase new computers, purchase updated computer software and provide for support personnel at the computer labs, university officials said.

Ken Dobbins, Southeast's executive vice president, said it's just a committee's recommendation at this point. "Before we can do a computer fee, we have to look at all of the issues at the university, not just computerization," said Dobbins.

The idea of a computer fee is not new; Southeast's budget review committee looked at the issue last spring. "It was discussed last spring and we didn't feel that was needed," Dobbins said.

"This is a preliminary discussion issue and the budget review committee will be reviewing all additional fees as they have done in the past in a very open manner," he said.

The whole fee issue is naturally of concern to students. "I am sure this will be a topic of concern at the next Student Government meeting," said Jeff Davis, a Southeast senior and president of Student Government. The student group next meets Oct. 4.

Davis said he understands the reasoning behind the fee proposal. "It costs money to put the computers in the computer lab."

"Naturally, any student does not support any kind of higher fees," said Davis. "If students voted every time there was a fee increase, this school wouldn't be in business."

But he said, "I like it much better than just raising a blanket tuition."

Even with fee hikes in recent years, he said, Southeast is still a bargain. "That's why you see all these students from Illinois coming to school here. That is why you see we are gaining more students from outside the region."