Kelley School fee up 107 percent

Students in the Kelley School of Business will be paying $430 more next year, due to a recent increase in the business fee.\nLast year, students paid $200 each semester, but in an e-mail sent from John Hill, associate dean of research and operations for the Kelley School to junior Judd Arnold, IU Student Association vice president of administration and junior Blair Greenburg, student body treasurer, the 107 percent increase to $415 per semester was necessary to balance the business school's budget. \nThe e-mail states, "As instructional costs have risen, so has the school's burden in helping to support the campus. Unfortunately, we have not seen an increase in state appropriation to offset these cost increases. This leaves only student fees and tuition to balance the budget."\nStudents in the business school have yet to be officially notified of the increase, although the business school's Web site was recently updated with the change.\n"There's no reason not to tell people that you raised the fee," Arnold said. "They have a responsibility to tell people, and they didn't fulfill that."\nIn addition, there has been speculation by some the graduate school construction, which was supposed to be completed last month, is over budget, and these increases are intended to help foot the bill for the graduate school.\n"I don't think it's fair (students have not been notified) because families budget costs for college in advance, and if they don't know fees are changing, then they may not be able to pay the expenses," said senior Kristen Rudicel, a business student. "Besides, undergraduates shouldn't have to pay for the graduate school, especially because not all of us plan to go to graduate school here."\nRobin Gress, secretary of IU's Board of Trustees, said the fee is an administrative one, not one the board must approve. \nAccording to meeting minutes of the board, May 7, 1999, is the only time the fee was mentioned. Judy Palmer, vice president and chief financial officer, told the board the fee would go to increase instructional costs and to expand enrollment in the business school. Palmer is on vacation and was unavailable for comment at press time. \nThe Kelley School's Web site states, "This fee is authorized by the Office of the President and the Vice President and chief financial officer of Indiana University." It was Palmer who approved these fees.\nDan Dalton, dean of the Kelley School, said three issues were considered when deciding to increase the fee.\n"One is technology, what we call enablement technology, which is laboratories for finance students in particular, wiring of our libraries and wiring of the buildings," he said. \nThe bottom two floors of the business school, including the library, currently have wireless Internet.\n"The second is for our business placement operations," Dalton said. \nHowever Arnold pointed out business students must take two required courses, X220 and X420, which both require an extra $95 fee. This fee goes to the business placement office. IU, Arnold said, has the highest enrollment of Big Ten business schools, with nearly 4,000 undergraduate students, all whom pay these extra fees. The business school was unable to confirm the statistic.\nDalton said the size of the business school is a concern, and in order to decrease expenses, it is sometimes necessary to raise standards for student achievement to decrease enrollment.\nIt's a potential solution, he said, but not one the school has adopted.\n"We face a crossroad in the Kelley School of Business. Should we be smaller? It seems a shame at some level to have less opportunity," he said. \nIn the e-mail from Hill to Arnold and Greenburg, Hill also discussed the possibility of requiring higher Grade Point Averages for admission. But, the e-mail states, "The school has chosen not to go this route believing that most students would rather pay higher fees than be denied access to the school of their choice."\nArnold feels most students aren't in favor of paying more, and would rather be required to have a higher GPA, holding to the standards of quality business schools.\n"We don't think people are in favor of paying more, just so more students can be in the school," Arnold said.