Trustees approve $1,000 fee

The IU Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $1,000 fee Friday for all incoming undergraduates at IU Bloomington starting in the fall of 2003. The fee comes after approval of a nine percent increase in tuition earlier this year. \nThe fee, which will be assessed at the beginning of each academic year, intends to improve the academic excellence of the University by recruiting and retaining faculty, decreasing the student-faculty ratio and providing more money in financial aid to students in need. The money will be specifically set aside to improve these areas.\n"We are challenged evermore to demonstrate our competitiveness and our excellence not only to a statewide audience, but really to students from other countries and to the world," University Vice President Bill Stephan said. "We also recognize that while we've grown accustom to excellence and of great accomplishment, we're doing that at a time when there are significant costs associated with these areas."\nIncoming undergraduates attending IU-Purdue University in Indianapolis will be assessed $800 per year while each satellite campus will be charged $500.\nIU currently remains near the bottom of the Big Ten in receiving money from the state for student tuition as well as tuition charged to in-state students. \n"We will be redoubling our efforts to make higher education accessible to all students," Stephan said. "Particularly low or lower-middle income families will be targeted."\nThe five-year plan for IU Bloomington, as opposed to a seven-year plan for the rest of the IU campuses, will generate close to $4 million in financial aid and a 20 percent increase in funds for undergraduate scholarships. The money is also expected to hire 100 new faculty members at the end of the five years.\n"We know full well the importance of a college degree," said interim president of the board Frederick Eichorn in a press release. "It enhances an individual's life, and increased numbers of college graduates help build a stronger economy in Indiana. We must keep that goal within reach."\nThe fee will not affect incoming undergraduates for fall 2002 or students that are currently enrolled, and will not be a part of the normal tuition fee.\n"We want to give students and their families the benefit of a full year before they apply," IU President Myles Brand said.\nIU is following in the footsteps of universities around the country that have imposed similar fees, including Purdue University, Ohio State University and the University of Illinois.\nBut the IU Student Association disagrees with the proposal and is troubled by the trend of increases in the cost of higher education by IU and other universities across the nation.\n"Public universities exist to ensure that all of us have an equal opportunity to succeed in our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness," IUSA said in a statement released Friday. "It is unfortunate that the new admissions criteria at IU requires not only a commendable academic record, but also that a prospective student hails from an affluent family."\nBut Brand said he believes this proposal will help protect those with financial need.\n"We will seek to make sure that all who qualify can attend an Indiana University campus," Brand said. "In the end we have to ask ourselves, do we want a great University"