By Jessica Wind (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: August 21, 2012
So you have registered for classes, attended orientation and now you have paid for your first semester of your University education. What do you mean tuition is only one of many fees attached to your receipt? Don’t panic, we have set up a crash course in reading your tuition receipt so that there are no questions about where your dollars and cents are going. This photo depicts a full course load of five lower level (three credit) courses complete with fees generally incurred in a regular fall semester.
1. Ancillary fees provide support for services on campus including athletics, library and technical services, legacy fund, student accident insurance and the construction of the student activity center. The amount is based on 10 per cent of tuition (calculated per credit).
2. The Cascade newspaper fee is a contribution to this publication. It allows us to bring you everything from news to campus life, from sports to sex and all the opinions in between. Weekly issues are distributed among common areas on campuses.
3. The radio station fee is another contribution you make towards the services provided to you on campus. CIVL comes to you at 101.7 FM during your commute between campuses.
4. The SUS Health and Dental fee is exactly as it sounds. For those of you not lucky enough to be safely protected under Mom and Dad’s health plan, this one is for you. On top of student life, a U-Pass and countless services on campus, SUS also offers you a health and dental plan to ensure you are able to strive for those A’s in peak health. This fall fee covers you for the year, and you are automatically enrolled in coverage far beyond basic MSP.
5. The Student Union Building (SUB) fee goes towards the construction of the Student Union Society’s building to be located on Abbotsford campus. It will house offices for the campus organizations including SUS, The Cascade and CIVL as well as be the new home of the on-campus restaurant, AfterMath.
6. The Student Union Society fee contributes to the organization responsible for providing you all with a voice on campus. They bring you events to make your education an experience, they work with the University to bring about change and they provide funding to other clubs and associations on campus.
7. Courses at UFV are $128.79/credit. Compared to TWU’s astronomical $715/credit or even UBC’s $156/credit, UFV still comes in as the most affordable education. So while it may hurt to kiss over $2000 goodbye in one transaction, like in this example of a five lower-level course semester, you may find solace in knowing that some people are paying that much for one class alone in other institutions.
8. The U-Pass Student Union fee pays for your perks of being a UFV student. The U-Pass gets you admission into the community recreation centres in Mission, Abbotsford and Chilliwack. It allows you to use public transit, and gives you a credit with the “My Safe Ride Home” taxi service (at least until April 2013). There are also discounts and deals from local supporters that come with the U-Pass.
