Friday, August 5, 2011

Colleges are tacking on mandatory student fees - Mark R. Sullivan, AP

Indiana University-Bloomington is adding a $180 "temporary repair and maintenance fee" this fall; next year it doubles. Freshmen and transfer students this fall at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale will be charged a one-time $150 "matriculation fee" for orientation costs. Students at Georgia's public universities will pay 3% more in tuition, but with fees the increase jumps to an average 9% more than last year. The rise is driven primarily by a "special institutional fee" that will cost as much as $1,088 next year for some students. For Georgia Tech freshmen, all fees total $2,370 — about a quarter of the total charge, $9,652. The special fee, a temporary measure to help make up for budget shortfalls, "keeps the lights on. It pays the faculty. It pays for all the things that tuition pays," University System of Georgia spokesman John Millsaps says.