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SALT LAKE CITY — Student fees at the University of Utah have grown 69 percent in the past decade, and a legislative audit released Tuesday reveals that year-end balances are excessive.
Auditors also found new fees are often adopted without student body approval or proper management of the funds after they are collected, and once-temporary fees have yet to be retired; in some cases, their purpose is shifted.
Some departments are holding hundreds of thousands of dollars year after year. At the end of last year, campus recreation programs at the U. ended up not using any of its 2010 revenue, resulting in more than $1.2 million carried over, the audit stated.
School officials claim that money is earmarked for new equipment. Declining enrollment was used to justify higher fees for the service, but the fee has not been reduced as enrollment continues to climb, auditors found.
The university collected $27.4 million in student fees for the 2010-11 school year and the need for an audit grew from legislative concerns. Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Clearfield, had raised concerns about the transparency and accountability of those dealing with student fees, specifically with those collected and spent by student government and the study abroad programs.
He did not believe students not involved in the elective programs should be responsible for funding them.
Overall, U. student fees are "informally" instituted without a vote of any kind or well-documented purposes.
The University Information Technology Department is reported to have used just half of what it collected last year in student computing fees and has a $3.1 million balance. Again, the money is intended for equipment costs, the audit stated.
A new $3 Money Management fee at the U. is said to provide a website and a center where a financial counselor helps students learn to manage their personal finances. While the fee will generate $225,000 in the 2011-12 school year, the center helped an estimated 15 students from January to March of this year. The audit states that the money generated by the fee is more than is needed to run the program.
Overall, U. student fees are "informally" instituted without a vote of any kind or well-documented purposes, auditors determined.
And while the state provides minimal guidance for managing student fees, the audit states that "other Utah institutions and other states have a more structured process for managing student fees."
Auditors noted that Utah State University's policies identify the purpose, structure, authority and reporting procedures for managing student fees, which keeps the funds in check. New or increased fees must be approved by a student fee board and vote of the general student body before being submitted for approval by the Logan institution's Board of Trustees and final approval by the state Board of Regents.
U. Interim President A. Lorris Betz said in a written response to the audit, that such a plan would be "beneficial to the university."
We take very seriously our responsibility to use the fees paid by our students as efficiently and effectively as possible and for the purposes outlined by the fee definitions.
–A. Lorris Betz
"We take very seriously our responsibility to use the fees paid by our students as efficiently and effectively as possible and for the purposes outlined by the fee definitions," he said, adding that the institution will take the recommendations "very seriously."
Betz said that the U. has already put together a committee to formalize policies and procedures regarding the student fee process and that their work should be complete by the FY13 budget process.
Also in question is a utilities fee that was instituted in 2003 as a temporary fuel and power fee. Even at that time, regents questioned if it was an appropriate use of student fees, but the fee continued. The audit report states that the fee has taken on a different form for 2012, with the majority of it being used to cover water and sewer costs for university buildings.
Auditor General John M. Schaff recommends that in addition to more streamlined procedures at the U., lawmakers and the state's Board of Regents should impose rules and regulations for the principles guiding the use of mandatory student fees statewide.
Utah's Higher Education Commissioner William Sederburg said he agrees with many of the auditor's findings and asks for "flexibility to ensure the wise and efficient use of resources in developing written guidelines." He said he didn't think legislation would be necessary to accomplish a statewide policy for the use of mandatory student fees.
Email:wleonard@ksl.com
