The Tuition and Fee Advisory Task Force (TFAT) tried to come to a consensus on the recommendations of the Student Fee Advisory Subcommittee (SFAS) at its Wednesday meeting. Members discussed the Kenan-Flagler Business School fee, which the subcommittee had not recommended.
What happened?
TFAT had its third and final meeting before the Board of Trustees hears the decisions that were made in three areas — fees, school-based tuition and campus-based tuition.
Who spoke?
Brian Smith, assistant vice chancellor for finance and accounting, said SFAS supports the expansion, career placement and diversity goals of the business school, but SFAS members are concerned about the precedent of establishing a student fee in general support of an academic program and administration.
“The areas where SFAS did have concerns felt like, a little bit — that with this particular fee, a lot of it was supporting some administrative cost and using a student fee to support general programmatic or administrative cost,” he said.
Harry Edwards, student body treasurer, said 605 students gave student government feedback on the business school fee.
“The feedback we collected on the whole was pretty negative,” he said. “I think about 71 percent of the students were opposed to the fee, even though it would give them a greater chance of them getting into the business school.”
Edwards said feedback results were compared based on perspectives, including out-of-state students and demographic characteristics. He said the subcommittee felt those who approved the fee were those who would not have a problem paying.
