RPS housing costs increase with new fee

The IU board of trustees on Thursday approved a plan to charge dorm residents a $100 fee in addition to regular room and board costs to help cover housing repair costs.\nUnder the plan, starting in fall 2006, all students living in residence halls will pay the one-time fee. After that semester, all students moving into the residence halls for the first time will pay the fee. In the fall, it is expected to raise about $700,000 for Residential Programs and Services. \nVice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services and Programs Bruce Jacobs said the one-time fee replaces an old RPS housing fee.\n"There is an existing fee right now, and there is a 1 percent surcharge on (residence hall) rooms that pays for repair and restoration," he said.\nThe extra money will go toward repair and restoration of residence halls and Residential Programs and Services facilities.\nJacobs said he spoke with Residence Hall Association and IU Student Association representatives, who approved of the plan. Several student representatives assisted in Jacobs' presentation of the plan.\nIUSA President Alex Shortle said students might not like the fee, but it is important to keep the dorms in shape.\n"It's a necessity," he said. "There's a lot of work to do on those dorms. It's like a user fee. It's not going to be digested well, but no fee is."\nIU has suffered from a lack of funding for building repairs for several years. As state appropriations have declined, so has the amount allotted for upkeep of University buildings.\nRestoring and remodeling buildings can be expensive. Jacobs said a recent renovation of Eigenmann Hall cost about $12 million and recent renovations to Campus View Apartments cost about $22 million.\nThough state appropriations have increased in terms of actual dollars over the past five years, the percentage of total IU funding coming from the state has decreased, and the amount of money per student has decreased, according to the 2004-2005 IU Factbook.\nTrustees could not be reached by press time.