Fee Increases Highlight Farmingdale State Town Hall Meeting

Students and faculty met on March 24 in 's Roosevelt Hall to discuss the impact of the over the last three years.

"This gives us the opportunity to be honest with students and share the challenges that we have as educators," said Dr. Tom Corti, vice president of Student Affairs.

The effects of the proposed 10 percent cut to the SUNY budget from the state could lead to decreased services for students, according to Farmingdale State Controller Richard Hume, who is in charge of student revenue and the college's budget. 

"We are getting students to write to legislators," Hume said, indicating that cuts could be drastic and cause some classes needed for students to graduate to get canceled, among other things.

Broad-based fees (student activities, transcript, health, athletic and technology fees) were the center of discussion at the meeting. Students were given documentation of the costs to run the college and the percentages of the broad-based fees used as revenue.

The administrators said that fees at Farmingdale State College are actually lower than the average SUNY school. On a yearly basis the broad-based fees at Farmingdale are $1,123 and the current average for other schools is $1,207.

Hume said the reason the fees were increased this year was to be able improve the school in this time of budget cuts. He said fees in areas like technology give the school better and updated access to technology, which is vital in these times. The technology fee for full-time students will increase from $155 in 2010-11 to $178 in 2011-12 on a per semester basis.

Other topics addressed were the importance of keeping fees and tuition reasonable so students are not dissuaded from going to college and keeping the quality of education high even with the budget cuts. "Access to education is important to the economic future of the state," Hume said.

SUNY tuition is controlled by the New York State legislature and the governor and the fees are controlled by the individual schools. The room and board rate will increase 2.5 percent for the 2011-12 school year. Tuition at Farmingdale State remains lower than other state schools, at $4,970 per year.

Open forums like this are mandated by New York State, but Corti said that the college believes in transparency.

"Since we are a state institution everyone has the right to know where their money is going, from the salaries of the administration to the repair of the ceilings," he said.