Dear Editor,
The April 23 Guardian editorial incorrectly suggested that Student Affairs was proposing to redistribute registration fees from their intended purpose of supporting student co-curricular services to ‘academic components such as admissions.’ The opposite is the case.’ ‘
In these difficult budgetary times, indeed for many decades, Student Affairs has sought to preserve the distinction between the registration fee and its co-curricular uses on one hand, and state general funds and education fee funds and their mainly academic uses on the other.
Student Affairs, it should be noted, is made up of units that utilize state general funds and other units that use registration fee funds as well as campus-based fees in some cases.’ Each unit offers campus programs and services appropriate to its funding sources.’ ‘
At UCSD, the Registration Fee Advisory Committee plays a major role in the allocation of registration fees.’ RFAC has 14 voting members, 10 of whom are students representing the colleges, the A.S. Council and the Graduate Student Association. In addition there is a nonvoting chair, who must be a student elected by the members. The other RFAC members are staff and faculty.
RFAC, with the consent of the vice chancellor of Student Affairs many years ago, adopted and continues to adhere to the UC Council on Student Fees’ Standing Policy on the Appropriate Use of the University Registration Fee, which lists the student service units that are inappropriate for registration fee funding.’ Included on this list are ‘enrollment/registrar/admissions services.’
UCSD students may rest assured that any ideas regarding the possible allocation of registration fees by Student Affairs to departments not usually considered for such funding under the CSF guidelines would first be vetted thoroughly by the RFAC.