February 9, 2018
Dear UB Students and Student Leaders:
In an effort to provide for student consultation and to assist you in planning for the next few years, the University is providing a five-year Broad-based Fee plan, including anticipated student fee rates for 2018/19 through 2022/23.
SUNY is again permitting campuses to take into consideration additional costs beyond the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) rate to cover extraordinary increases for specific fees due to compelling reasons. Fee increases are to be used to fund state-mandated costs (collective bargaining, negotiated contractual increases, increased fringe benefits, and minimum wage increases).
To continue to offer programs and services that our UB students need and expect in the current State, SUNY and UB budget climate, a 2.53% increase to the Comprehensive Fee has been proposed for 2018/19. The proposed increase would support state-mandated increases in salaries, minimum wage, fringe benefits, costs as a result of inflationary increases, increased technology and library costs and services, and central academic investments. Further details on the plan are below and also available at: /broadbasedfees.php
| Fee | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2018/19 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UG | GR | UG | GR | UG | GR | UG | GR | UG | GR | |
| Athletics | $10.00 | $0.00 | $10.50 | $0.00 | $10.50 | $0.00 | $11.00 | $0.00 | $11.00 | $0.00 |
| Campus Life |
$10.50 | $10.50 | $4.50 | $4.50 | $4.50 | $4.50 | $5.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| Health | $23.50 | $23.50 | $8.00 | $8.00 | $8.00 | $8.00 | $8.50 | $8.50 | $8.50 | $8.50 |
| Recreation | $1.00 | $0.00 | $1.00 | $0.00 | $1.00 | $0.00 | $1.00 | $0.00 | $1.00 | $0.00 |
| Tech- nology |
$15.50 | $15.50 | $16.50 | $16.50 | $17.00 | $17.00 | $17.50 | $17.50 | $17.50 | $17.50 |
| Trans-portation | $10.00 | $10.00 | $9.50 | $9.50 | $9.50 | $9.50 | $10.00 | $10.00 | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| Total Increase (annual) | $70.50 | $59.50 | $50.00 | $38.50 | $50.50 | $39.00 | $53.00 | $41.00 | $53.00 | $41.00 |
| Current Rate (annual cum- ulative) |
$2,573.50 | $2,010.50 | $2,644.00 | $2,070.00 | 2,694.00 | $2,108.50 | $2,744.50 | $2,147.50 | $2,727.50 | $2,188.50 |
| Proposed Rate (annual cum- ulative) |
$2,644.00 | $2,070.00 | $2,694.00 | $2,108.50 | $2,744.50 | $2,147.50 | $2,727.50 | $2,188.50 | $2,850.50 | $2,229.50 |
| Academic Excellence and Success Fee |
$100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 |
The Comprehensive Fee components include support for the following: intercollegiate athletics (undergraduates only), recreation (undergraduates only), campus life, college fee, student health, technology, transportation, and transcript. Fees continue to be prorated on a per credit-hour basis for part-time students (with the exception of the Transcript Fee), and the current waiver policy will be maintained.
Campus Life increases will support anticipated state mandated negotiated salary and benefit increases, as well as other contractual obligations including mandated NYS minimum wage increases.
Health Services increases will support anticipated state mandated negotiated salary and benefit increases for personnel funded through the Health Fee, as well as inflationary increases and minimum wage increases. The fee increase will also support the Failing Forward Resiliency Project — an interactive web-based initiative to create opportunities to discuss issues of success and failure, as well as a Healthier Campus initiative, which will adopt guidelines around food, nutrition, physical activity and programming.
Intercollegiate Athletics (undergraduate only) increases will permit the department to maintain existing level of operations and services by supporting the typical operating cost escalation that occurs each year related to inflation. As costs such as transportation, student minimum wage, campus room and board, etc. continue to climb, additional resources are required to maintain the same basic level of operation as in years past.
Recreation (undergraduate only)increase will support anticipated inflationary operational cost increases in order to maintain the same level of service and programming as provided in prior years. As operational costs like minimum wage continue to increase, additional funding is needed in order to maintain basic levels of service.
Technology increases will provide access to vital scholarly information resources and technology that support the learning and research needs of UB students, as well as inflation for Information Technology contractual increases for campus wide software and hardware licenses.
Transportation increases will support anticipated state mandated negotiated salary increases for personnel funded through the Transportation Fee, as well as fringe and minimum wage increases. The fee increase will also fund swipe card access for campus shuttles and a license plate recognition project to improve the communication of availability of spaces to students.
Included within Broad-based Fees is the Academic Excellence and Success Fee, which supports building and enhancing academic and student success programs. This includes upgrading classroom facilities, support for the Center for Excellence in Writing, strategic enrollment management and strategic initiatives such as the Heart of the Campus.
Final UB recommendations for the five-year Broad-based Fee plan will be made after student consultation has closed. The student consultation process is based on recommendations developed by the State University of New York (SUNY).
More information on UB’s student Broad-based Fees, proposed increases, and the waiver process, is available at /broadbasedfees.php.
Several opportunities for student comment have also been established. Student and student leader comments on the proposed broad-based fee adjustments are encouraged via email (ubstudentaccounts@buffalo.edu) through February 23, 2018. Additional feedback may be provided to the representatives from the areas supported by student fees through Friday, February 23, 2018. Details can be found on the Broad-based Fee website and will follow in upcoming Spectrum ads. In addition, we will conduct an assessment of student fee interests and concerns via the My Opinion survey which can be accessed through MyUB. The results will be shared via the Broad-based Fee website.
Broad-based Fee adjustments, if adopted, would be reflected in Student Account statements distributed to all returning and new students in mid-July. UB strives to remain as one of the nation’s best values in higher education and will continue to be a major public university and the premier public institution in the Northeast with continued student support.
Sincerely,
Charles F. Zukoski
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
A. Scott Weber
Vice President for Student Life
xc:
Satish K. Tripathi, President
Laura E. Hubbard, Vice President for Finance and Administration
J. Brice Bible, Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Kathy Twist, Interim Director of Athletics
H. Austin Booth, Vice Provost for University Libraries
Lee H. Melvin, Vice Provost for Enrollment
Christina Hernandez, Associate Vice President for Administration and Planning for Student Life
Laura J. Barnum, Associate Vice President for Resource Planning
Craig Abbey, Associate Vice Provost and Director of Institutional Research, Office of Institutional Analysis
Barbara J. Ricotta, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs
Beth Corry, Associate Vice President and Controller, Business Services
Nancy Kielar, Assistant Vice President & Chief of Staff, Office of the CIO
Sandra Pfohman, Assistant Vice Provost for Resource Management, Office of the Provost
Nathaniel Wills, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Intercollegiate Athletics
Susan M. Snyder, Director of Health Services
Thomas R. Tiberi, Director, Student Life
Christopher Austin, Director, Parking and Transportation Services
Ashley Kravitz, Resource Analyst, Resource Planning
Joseph Lewandowski, Resource Analyst, Resource Planning
Reporter
Spectrum
Last updated: February 09, 2018 3:06 pm EST