The Missouri Students Association has continued entertaining a proposal from MU Libraries for an increase in student fees to pay for library features.
“At this state it’s just talking to people,” MSA President Xavier Billingsley said. “At the end of the day it’s up to the Student Fee Review Committee and if they want to propose a student vote for the library fee. They will consult with the students and put it up for a vote.”
MSA has not taken a stance on any fee because there has not been an official fee proposal from the library to consider, Academic Affairs chairman Ben Levin said in an email.
“We’re dedicated to ensuring that any fee is in the best interest of the students before placing it on a referendum for consideration,” Levin said.
Current informal proposals being discussed place the fee at about $1 per credit hour, Levin also said.
The $1 per credit hour fee is one of the options being discussed, Billingsley said.
“There are a lot of options that have been discussed, anywhere from a course fee to a flat fee,” Billingsley said. “There is no number they’re set on, but people have favored a flat fee and not a per-course, so it’ll be the same if you take 12 hours or 15 hours.”
The library receives funding from the provost and revenue from the Bookmark Cafe, but it’s not enough to keep providing all of the features the library offers, Billingsley said.
Given the current budget situation of the state and MU, it would be difficult to determine from where funds would come if alternate options were explored, MU Libraries spokeswoman Shannon Cary said.
“Because most of the needs that have been brought up by students deal with ongoing costs, such as increased library hours, the needed funds would have to be ongoing,” she said.
The proposed fee would help maintain online and physical archives in the libraries, Levin said.
“The question for MSA will be whether the supposed losses pose a significant enough threat to the undergraduate academic experience that an additional burden on students becomes justified,” Levin said.
A proposal that includes other improvements such as extended hours, refurbishment, more study space or the inclusion of leisure books would stand a greater chance of being placed on a referendum and gaining a majority of students’ votes in the fall, Levin said.
The fee could come to a vote in either the fall or spring semester, but might not come to a vote if the committee does not find it necessary, Billingsley said. The fee would be incorporated into tuition for the 2013-2014 academic year.
Billingsley kept the benefits and drawbacks of the fee simple.
“The drawbacks are they charge students their money, but the benefits are you have more resources in the library,” Billingsley said.
