Student Fee Committee
Student Fee Committees are currently taking applications. Download one here and return to the Student Affairs office (SU 322).
What is the Student Incidental Fee?
Every year, all students are charged for the Student Incidental Fee. This year, the fee will be $286 each term for full-time students. This fee pays for many programs and organizations on campus, including the following:
All Athletics programs and intramural sports
ASSOU - your student government
The Siskiyou
Maintenance of the Stevenson Union building
The Multicultural Resource Center, Commuter Resource Center, Women's Resource Center, and Queer Resource Center
Schneider Children's Center
Ecology Center of the Siskiyous
All campus clubs (through the Inter-Club Council)
What is the Student Fee Committee?
The Student Fee Committee and its subcommittees are charged with allocating the Student Incidental Fee and determining the amount students will be charged each term for the Fee.
While the Student Fee Committee makes overall decisions, the subcommittees hear budget proposals from individual programs and decide which programs get funding.
The Athletics Advisory Committee hears budgets from all athletics programs, including intramural sports.
The Stevenson Union Advisory Committee hears budgets relating to the operation and maintenance of the Stevenson Union, as well as the Schneider Children's Center.
The Educational Activities Advisory Committee hears budgets for all extracurricular activities, programs, and clubs on campus besides athletics. EAAC also sets the budget for the Inter-Club Council (ICC), which funds programming for clubs throughout the year.
Why do I have to pay the Incidental Fee? What if I don't approve of or want to participate in programs funded by the Fee?
Over a century ago, students at universities started demanding more out of their educational experience. They wanted access to extracurricular activities that would enrich their education outside of the classroom. The Student Fee was created to meet this demand. Today, the Student Incidental Fee is the only part of the university's budget that is completely controlled by students, which means we can use it to support any programs that we want to enrich our academic experience.
While we may not all agree with or support all programs funded by the Fee, it is important to remember that all programs are eligible for funding, regardless of political or ideological stance. In 2000, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in the Southworth v. Wisconsin case that the purpose of the Student Incidental Fee is to promote free speech and a marketplace of ideas by funding many different programs with different ideological beliefs. However, the fee committee must make its decisions about funding programs based on objective criteria and without regard to a group's politics or ideology. In other words, the committee cannot refuse a group funding just because the group is conservative or liberal. However, the committee can make funding decisions based on the efficacy of the group or the number of students it serves.
How can I make the most of my Student Fee money?
Get involved with programs on campus! All Student Fee-funded groups are open to all students, and these programs are always looking for more students to get involved. If you don't find a program that interests you, you can always start a new club and get funding for your events through Inter-Club Council.
How can I get involved with the Student Fee process?
Be a part of one of the committees! The Student Fee Committee and its subcommittees each have 4 At-Large student members, which means any student can apply to be part of the process and make decisions that directly affect students' lives here at Southern. We need to seat the committees by the middle of Fall Term, so if you're interested, please contact our Director of Administration and Finance, Katherine Gohring, at gohringk@students.sou.edu for more information or an application.