by JEFF KOEHLER
News Reporter

Speakers at the Appalachian State University Fee Committee meeting Thursday proposed a total of $163 in fee increases per student for the 2009-10 school year.

The increases will help cover costs for debts owed for new construction in and around Plemmons Student Union, payment for new transportation initiatives, textbook rental expenses and Appalachian Athletics.

Rick Presnell, chair of Business Affairs, and Robert K. Feid, financial manager, submitted a proposal for a $100 increase in student fees to cover costs of financing debt related to new construction projects around the student union. 

The Appalachian State University Fee Committee meets Thursday with Athletics Director Charlie G. Cobb to discuss fee increases due to the cost of school services and programs. There will be a final vote Thursday on proposed increases. Photo by Alisha Park

Feid said the increase in fees would create the necessary funding to proceed with the project, without creating immediate expenses.

“We’re required to have funding in place before design work can begin,” he said. 

Feid said the project would cover a 60,000 square foot expansion to the student union.

The addition to the student union is projected to cost $20 million and would expand Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT) offices, provide programming space for some activities and provide more meeting space within the student union.

The second fee increase proposal involved transportation expenses.

Barry D. Sauls, director of Parking and Traffic at Appalachian, requested an $8 increase in student funds to cover expenses relating to transportation.

He said the fee increase would provide funding for additional AppalCART buses, fund shelters for additional bus stops on campus, expand hours for some bus routes and fund additional fuel costs and route coverage on Sundays.

Sauls said the recent Master Plan and land use meetings had provided input on public opinion regarding AppalCART.

“Everybody basically said we love AppalCART, but we’d like to see more buses, and we’d like to see more frequent service,” he said.

Increased usage of the AppalCART service has necessitated the need for these expanded services.

“We’ve had an incredible spike in ridership over the last three to four years, and with the fuel situation it’s just gotten worse,” Sauls said. “It’s a good situation to have, but the result is overcrowded buses.”

Additional costs were proposed during the meeting by the University Bookstore.

Michael G. Coston, the Bookstore’s director, proposed a $25 increase in student fees per student in order to cover increasing costs of textbook rentals. 

He said increased textbook costs, combined with a shorter adoption cycle for textbooks from three years to two years, create an overall greater need for funding for the rental program.

The final fee increase request was presented by Appalachian Athletics.

Charles G. Cobb, director of Appalachian Athletics, requested a $30 fee increase per student for the department.

He said the increase will include an operating fee of $15 and a capital expenses fee of $15. 

The two fees will support underfunded programs, scholarships for athletes in those programs and will also pay for construction of capital projects like the new soccer complex off of U.S. Highway 421 and stadium bleachers at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Peter B. Martinez, freshman medicine major, said he thought the fees should start with the first class of students who would benefit from the new additions to the student union.

No increases were proposed during the previous day’s meeting Oct. 29.

The Fee Committee will meet for a final vote Thursday.

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