The Hidden Costs of College
By Kelly Stavnes
Almost immediately after hauling the last clothes-filled Rubbermaid tub, the mini refrigerator, and hand-me-down furniture into the dorm room, the first tuition bill arrives. While it’s the bottom line that usually makes parents’ jaws drop, it’s also increasingly common to be left wondering …“Just what is an ‘additional fee,’ anyway?”
No longer are all college funds derived solely from tuition. In fact, many universities are sending itemized bills on top of the cost of classes. These mysterious - and mandatory - charges can cover a wide variety of aspects of college life, including technology, printing, arts and culture, health, and even the construction of new campus buildings.
Technology seems to be universities’ newest and biggest funding challenge. As technology rapidly changes, computers must be constantly updated, repaired and replaced. Regardless of whether students make much use of on-campus technology or not, some colleges tack on an additional fee. At the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, the cost is $93.50 per semester. Students at the University of Iowa in Iowa City shell out $137.50 and pay a minimum $10 for using campus printers, whether they actually print $10 worth of paper or not. Students at Iowa State University in Ames whose majors rely heavily on technology fare even worse -- semester computer fees for engineering and computer science majors can run well over $200.
“I think some of the charges are reasonable, like lab fees for some of the supplies we use,” said Isaiah Klavitter, an engineering student in his junior year at Iowa State. “But we students really have to look at our billing statements to realize what all our money is going toward.”
Equipment issues are also seeping into privately funded colleges. Augustana College in Rock Island charges students $345 a year to fund campus computer labs. Students who bring their own computers to dormitories also pay an extra $20 to connect to the campus-wide online network—and it has some students frustrated.
“I guess I’m just confused because I was under the impression that tuition is a ‘student fee,’ ” said Liz Driscoll, an Augustana senior majoring in marketing and minoring in sociology from LaGrange Park, Ill.
But technology isn’t the only additional fee students and parents should expect. State universities in Iowa charge a mandatory student health fee to ensure that every student has access to physicians, as well as education about smoking cessation, nutrition, psychiatry, and other health issues. But, if a student never becomes ill or prefers their home doctor, they pay anyway. At the University of Iowa this past spring, full-time students paid $95 to support visits to the doctor for all who are currently enrolled.
Dr. Mary Khowassah, director of student health services at the Iowa City university, says the fee allows students to seek unlimited, quality health care regardless of how far they are from home.
“Students are at a point in their lives where they obviously need health care, and they need to feel comfortable seeking health care independently so they can make some of their own decisions,” said Khowassah.
Some academic departments within universities assess their own fees to students in specific majors. For example, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa charges students a $10 “arts and cultural events fee” that enables the school to attract lecturers, musicians, performers and other artists.
Additional costs on your bill may include extras such as campus newspapers, bus services, career guidance and even excessive energy bills. And these fees add up … the average University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student owes $886 a year on top of tuition.
But while some students may feel that fees keep increasing, Western Illinois University lets those it accepts know the cost of their entire education upfront. At both its Quad City and Macomb campuses, WIU offers a price guarantee in which the rates for fees, tuition, room, and board are fixed for an individual for four consecutive years at the school.
Michele Aurand, WIU admissions counselor, says the guarantee helps eliminate financial stress for students.
“At most schools, what you pay freshman year is not even close to what you pay by senior year,” she said. “But this way, there are no surprises.”
Private colleges also have a better opportunity to regulate fees than their Board of Regents-dictated counterparts. Since they’re not obligated to divulge exactly how funds are used, private schools are able to charge a lump sum and disperse the money as they see fit.
For example, at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, full-time undergraduate tuition runs $20,580 per year, but the only other charges students face are the deposits on their applications for admission and registration each semester. So, while parents may feel frustrated if they receive an itemized list of “additional fees,” those who pay a flat amount still cover the same things — they’re just hidden in the tuition. And as for technology? Well, just prepare to pay.
“The bottom line is that schools are more or less providing these extra services, it’s just a matter of how they’re charged,” said Kirby Winn, public relations director at Augustana College. “It might seem like you’re being nickeled and dimed, or the alternative is that everything is bundled into one cost.”
