The line distinguishing academic from personal Internet use can, at times, be a fine one. As the University works with students to determine a suitable fee for the campus network, it will be difficult to determine what types — and how much — of online browsing falls under one category or the other. But it shouldn’t be a “good guess,” as Larry Conrad, vice chancellor for information technology, said it would, or could, be.
One year of cuts after another, the University has put its paying customers — the students — first. It has largely protected them from much of the pain wrought by what is now a string of state budget cuts. Students should share the burden of funding cuts, but with a 6.5-percent tuition hike and last year’s last-minute supplement, they deserve better than guesswork when it comes to establishing a new fee for UNC network access.
The fee should not be decided in a “negotiated settlement,” as Conrad said in an interview last week, but rather through an informed discussion that includes whatever empirical data the University can get its hands on. Of all departments on campus, Conrad’s should know how to create an online survey or study that can clearly determine how students use the UNC network. In an interview Tuesday, Conrad indicated a willingness to pursue such research. His department should work with students to put a survey or study in place.
A different funding model is needed because service fees for landline phones, which have long funded the network, have diminished with the rise in popularity of cellphones. The original plans for the funding model call for student fees to contribute as much as $3.1 million to the nearly $20 million needed to refresh and maintain the outdated network.
But the University has rightfully agreed to have students pay only the fraction of that total which accounts for their personal network use. That measure of good faith makes a clear understanding of students’ personal network time all the more necessary.
Students could see their contribution reduced to between $1 million and $1.5 million if University officials and students agree that personal time accounts for only a third or half of network use, Conrad said.
That process will require a clear definition of what qualifies as academic and personal use. For instance, University officials and students must reach an agreement on whether news sites can be considered academic. The committees weighing in on the fee mustn’t punish students for going above and beyond what’s required of them.
By parsing out a clear definition of “personal” network use and applying that definition to research-based findings, the University will give the student body assurance that the fee is as fair as possible. In this economic climate, any fee will inevitably be construed by some as a tuition increase in disguise.
That impression could prove especially true in this instance, as plans also call for closing computer labs in the Student Union and Student and Academic Services Buildings. Conrad said that move will save $200,000 that can be applied to the network cost.
The University is not out of line in pursuing this fee. The exact fee that students will see in the 2012-13 academic year is not yet clear, but what is clear is that the University is reaching out and consulting students. Rather than gripe about an additional fee, students can pursue measures that minimize whatever fee comes July 1.
