Capped fees save students money

Students that enroll full-time for 12 credit hours a semester and graduate in five years can expect to pay at least $5,874 in fees during that period, based on the 2012-13 academic year’s fee schedule, which has risen an average of 23.5 percent for the past two years.

For the 2012-13 academic year, students currently pay $48.95 per credit hour in fees.

Chadron State College charges students five mandatory fees on a semesterly basis: a capital improvement fee, an event fee, a facilities fee, a health fee, a student activity fee, and a technology fee.

The total fee-per-hour level rose eight percent from the 2010-11 to 2011-12 academic years and 39 percent from the 2011-12 to 2012-13 academic years.

With the exception of the capital improvement fee, which has no limit, the remaining four mandatory fees cap out at an average 12.1 credit-hour limit.

Thus, by taking more than 12 credits per semester, students can save money on each credit in excess of this limit in four out of the five mandatory fees.

The most expensive fee per credit hour is the facility fee at $16. This fee “is used for revenue bond projects that are not funded by the state, such as improvements to the student center, residence halls, parking lots, and pedestrian enhancements,” the CSC Business Office’s description of fees states.

At $5.10 per credit hour, the event fee funds athletics and fine art events, including those featured in the annual Galaxy Series’ lineup.

“Two-thirds [of the event fee] goes to athletics; one-third goes to fine arts,” Dale Grant, CSC vice president for administration and finance, said Monday. “It’s been that way for decades.”

The .40 cent per credit hour records fee “is the basic cost fee for official transcripts issued at the request of a student,” the Business Office’s fee description schedule states. “It’s a brand new one,” Grant said. “It’s a brand new one,” Grant said.