NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO RAISE NON-ESSENTIAL FEES

A committee of students and staff is proposing expanded medical and counseling services through the Center for Health and Counseling at Southeast Missouri State University. That expansion would come at a pretty hefty cost to students a $27.75 per semester fee has been proposed.

Now is not the time to be raising unessential student fees. As state finances have dwindled, the university has had to turn to the students to pay a larger part of the bill. Students may not like it, but they can understand it. But raising other extraneous fees may push the cost of education at Southeast Missouri State University out of reach for some students.

Student tuition costs continue to rise at an accelerated rate. As a result, today's students are bearing more of the cost of university operations. Students this year are paying one-third the cost of operating the university, compared to less than one-sixth the cost a decade ago.

This year, Southeast students will pay $336 a year more in tuition than last year. In contrast, the entire tuition at Southeast 12 years ago was $330 a year. Last year's student fees totaled $1,490 compared to $1,826 this year. That figure includes a recently approved tuition hike for the upcoming spring semester.

This proposed health services fee would allow the university to return an estimated $178,600 to the general operations budget from health services. But instead of charging all students for expanded health services, the university might consider charging only those students who use the service. It just makes sense.

These expanded university medical services may also represent a duplication of services readily available in the community.

Cape Girardeau serves the region well as a medical center. We have to wonder if the university really needs a full-time doctor on campus, instead of relying on doctors already practicing in town.

The same holds true for counseling services. The Community Counseling Center offers services on a sliding scale, based on income. That means students with low or no income would receive services at a reduced cost. If the services are already in place in town, why should the university duplicate those services on campus? Most students these days have an automobile or have access to ready transportation.

As fees rise, students may want to take a closer look at how their dollars are spent. For example, each student pays a $25 per semester activity fee that funds student organizations and athletics. Recently, about $10,000 of those student fees were used to bring the AIDS quilt to town. Was that really a prudent use of student dollars? Perhaps some of the fees already paid by students could be put to better use on campus.

We realize this proposal is still in the preliminary stages. We would hope that it would be examined closely by both the Board of Regents and the student body before it goes much further. In these times of tight finances, even student fees must stand up to a tighter measure of accountability.