The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

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You pay more than a $100 fee for ‘campus quality’

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Juan Pardo
Students at CSUN walk through Sierra Quad to their classes (Juan Pardo / The Sundial).

The campus quality fee is a portion of tuition payments that have been used to provide student support services and establish community resources. For fall 2018 the fee will be $116 of tuition, what do those funds go to?

According to the Division of Student Affairs website the campus quality fee, “would serve to enhance the learning experiences of students on campus.”

Dr. William Watkins, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, explains the importance of these funds, “There’s a lot that the students have jump-started through the campus quality fee,” Watkins said.

A few of the programs that were established through the campus quality fee is the Dream Center, Pride Center, and Veteran’s Resource Center.

Students and administrators can submit proposals for the allocation of funds and can do so through the campus quality fee website. “The challenge for students when allocating state funds is it has to go through administration,” Watkins said.

“Students can go to any university entity, the U.S.U., A.S., or any other department and ask for a co-sponsor,” Watkins advised.

Introduced in 2008, the fees were added to offset course fees, lab equipment and material fees which students paid for as a part of their tuition.

“As administrators, we made a pact to ensure that this money will add to the experience of students,” Watkins said.

In addition, free tutoring services are administered through these funds and are used to pay tutors to provide ample hours for students.

Andrea Nemeth, the math tutoring center coordinator, believes these fees aids student success, “The tutoring center is not just for math majors, but every student on campus,” Nemeth said.

The math tutoring center is in Live Oak Hall room 1319, no appointment is required and their hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Fridays.

Sol Gonzalez, a 23-year-old marketing major believes the fees could be allocated differently, “The college of business does have enough resources for me to succeed as a student but I wish it could be used towards creating more classes,” Gonzalez said. “The upper division classes fill up really fast.”

Another initiative that has been supported by students’ contributions is the wireless access throughout campus and IT help desk.

Every student is invited to contribute to the future of CSUN, “The campus quality survey is distributed to each student via email and we take this into consideration for the next year’s proposed funds,” Watkins said.

Another use of funds has gone towards the beautification of the campus, the umbrella tables behind the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication and study nooks within each building are all made possible through the campus quality fee.

Majority of Campus Quality Fee Expenses
A visual breakdown of the campus quality fee allocations. More information can be found via www.csun.edu/studentaffairs.com/campus-quality-fee Photo credit: Tamara Syed

The breakdown of every academic year’s allocation of funds can be viewed online on the campus quality fee website.

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