Faced with the loss of essential campus services, the Student Government Association at Missouri Western State University this week voted to raise student fees.

The plan establishes a $75 per semester fee for students taking 12 or more credit hours.

Part-time students would pay $50. Summer school students will be charged $25.

 

Jacob Scott, a junior from Savannah, is the current student body vice president, and will become president of S.G.A next year. Scott says the level of state funding has dropped dramatically, from about 70% of the university’s budget, to about 305.

For the last three months S.G.A. has been looking at the possibility of losing some programs on campus. Scott listed several programs that could be affected, including tutoring, advising, career services, student life activities.

“With a $1.6 million shortfall, we honestly could have seen a lot of that go away, and as students, we had to make a decision as to whether we wanted to see those things next year,” Scott said.

The plan, which still requires the signature of the SGA and university presidents, would raise an estimated $750 thousand dollars a year, based on enrollment.

Scott points out the General Assembly is moving to restore funding that was cut from next year’s budget, and he says he’s hopeful the governor will sign off on that.

“A cut to Missouri Western is not just a cut to the university itself,” he said.

“It’s really a cut to the St Joseph community and to northwest Missouri. The services we provide are for everyone. Equal access to education are important to everyone in this community, and I think we should all stand behind that.”