The university’s Student Life subcommittee has received approval for its student fee recommendations for the coming year. Dining, residence hall and health fees will all increase by 5.5 percent, down from past years, while student union and miscellaneous fees, two fees that previously increased at a high rate, will stay the same. 

According to the Blue Hen Poll, which is not administered by university officials, a plurality of students said they would be willing to pay more for sustainable initiatives such as organic food, solar panels as well as making all buildings handicap accessible. Despite these results, the university has significantly cut back fees in all areas, even though they would be able to make popular improvements.  

Also, the fact that housing fees are increasing by 5.5 percent across the board seems to be a bit unfair to those who will wind up being placed into the Dickinson and Rodney complexes, which are set to be demolished in two years. To be fair to the university, however, they do guarantee on campus housing all four years, which may be appealing enough to parents that they will look past the jump in fees.

Another major issue with university fees is the fact that they are mercurial and therefore hard for students to keep track of. In fact, the miscellaneous fee increased by 92 percent just two years ago in 2010 and this year it will not increase at all. This also shows further that the university does not consider the student’s opinion in deciding these fees, they merely consider their needs and then fill them out. 

Overall, university officials need to increase transparency and communication with students regarding fees and take into account feedback from the student body.  Students should know why and what they are paying for with these increases each year.