Undergraduate students at UB will pay 3.8% more in broad-based fees next year, as part of a five-year plan the university says will pay for increased wages and cost inflation, among other things.
Full-time students currently pay $1,746.75 per semester for the fees. That number has remained steady since the fall 2021 semester, but has risen nearly 57% since the 2012-13 academic year. The 3.8% increase will add about $66.38 per semester to broad-based fees.
UB’s broad-based fees are higher than those charged by the SUNY university centers in Binghamton, Albany and Stony Brook, which charge $1,410, $1,644 and $1,507.90 per semester, respectively.
In a mass email to the student body, UB said the increased fees are needed to offset wage increases, inflation, “increased access to vital scholarly information resources, technology and services; and central academic investments.”
UB charges seven broad-based fees — Campus Life, Health Services, Intercollegiate Athletics, Recreation, Technology, Transportation, and Academic Excellence and Success — to all enrolled students. The fees fund UB services that aren’t provided for by SUNY tuition.
Of the seven fees, the $430 Technology Fee is the most expensive, followed by the $265.75 Athletics Fee and the $262.50 Academic Excellence and Success Fee.
In a 2022 survey conducted by UB, respondents listed “academic and co-curricular personal development” and “student health, health promotion, and counseling services” as their highest priorities, and intercollegiate athletics as the lowest. Only 59 students responded to the survey.
A UB spokesperson did not provide a breakdown of the proposed increase in time for publication.
Ricardo Castillo is the senior sports editor and can be reached at ricardo.castillo@ubspectrum.com
Sol Hauser is the senior news editor and can be reached at sol.hauser@ubspectrum.com
