As the spring semester begins, Gannon University students are probably looking at their tuition bills. While doing so, they may notice a section dedicated to various fees the university charges.
Among these fees are the APB/SGA/Leadership fee, University fee and for some students, a lab fee or two.
Each undergraduate student at Gannon is charged a fee of $188 to help support the Activities Programming Board (APB), the Student Government Association (SGA) and various other leadership opportunities on campus.
Of this $188 fee, $45 from each undergraduate goes to APB. This money makes all of the various trips and activities offered the organization possible.
According to Cierra Vandevort, treasurer of APB, the total money received from the university is used to plan a budget for the 14 chairs APB is subdivided into.
Among these chairs is the concert chair, which collaborates with other universities to put on concerts from big-name bands every other spring.
Another chair, the kaleidoscope chair, is responsible for all of the major trips offered to students through APB, including this year’s fall semester trips to New York City and Cedar Point.
APB covers the travel costs of these often expensive trips through funding received by the APB/SGA/Leadership fee.
For example, APB paid $8,240 for the two the buses to New York City in the fall.
In addition to its own programs, APB participates in both Preview GU and Off the Hook.
“We create a fun and welcoming environment to new and current students, to promote interaction between students and remind them of the engagement opportunities on campus,” Vandevort said.
APB also uses some of the money they receive for their Late Knight Programming grant, which gives clubs and organizations funding of up to $1,000 and assistance in creating their own events.
“We love student ideas and feedback and work hard to give the students what they ask for,” Vandevort said.
Students with ideas for programming can email their suggestions to [email protected], call the APB office at 814-871-7766 or stop by the office located in Reim Commons of the Waldron Campus Center.
“APB’s purpose overall is to provide students with outlets to branch out through safe, fun and memorable campus activities by the teamwork and commitment of APB,” Vandevort said.
The other fee all Gannon students see on their tuition bill is the University fee. This fee funds a variety of services around campus.
Full-time students pay $240 per semester, while part-time students pay $25 for each credit they take.
Previous to having the University fee, students were billed for several services offered on campus individually, including transcript fees, health center usage, technology fees and recreation center usage.
Linda Wagner, vice president of finance and administration, believes that having one fee is much more comprehensible for students.
“Several years back, we took a look at our billing situation and saw we had several smaller fees,” Wagner said. “It was confusing to students and we thought rather than itemizing each one individually, let’s just push [the fees] together and have one fee that would cover all of those services.”
Wagner believes that the services the university fee provides to students, like the health center, are beneficial to any student.
“Just think about the health center itself,” Wagner said. “You’re able to go over there, get diagnosed and you don’t have to worry about transportation to a doctor.”
Mary Kate Pritz, a freshman physician assistant major, is happy to see her tuition dollars going to services she regularly utilizes.
“I’m glad that the fees we pay as students are allocated for resources that we actually use,” Pritz said.
“I definitely take advantage of Gannon’s fitness options and tech services.”
LYDIA FENNESSY
[email protected]
