New Proposal to Raise Student Fees

Mt. Hood students could see their per-credit Student Activities Fee increase by 50 cents for the 2024-25 academic year, after the move was endorsed by the college’s student government body.

At the Nov. 22 meeting of the Associated Students of Mt. Hood Community College (ASMHCC) the seven student representatives present voted unanimously to recommend that the SAF be increased by nearly 12%, from $4.25 to $4.75 per credit.

One of the reasons given for the proposed increase is rising costs associated with the conjunction of increased student enrollment after the pandemic and inflation (especially food prices), leaving the services funded by the SAF strained.

Another reason is the tight budget Mt. Hood Athletics has currently. On Nov. 8, Athletics Director Kim Hyatt told the ASMHCC that the coach positions paid through the fee provide inadequate compensation, and that while Athletics is provided a modest amount for sports equipment, Athletics in general is underfunded. She recommended an incremental increase to the SAF.

Besides Athletics, the Student Activities Fee supports the production of The Advocate student newspaper and Venture Magazine by providing funds for printing and student editor positions. The transportation expenses of the sports teams; the Forensics (speech and debate) team; and a few other organizations are also funded by the fee.

The SAF also funds operation of the student government itself. And there are many other services ASMHCC provides with SAF funds: organizing events on campus, providing textbook scholarships, making needed school supplies available since the closure of the campus bookstore, emergency bus passes, and running the Barney’s Pantry. In addition, the pantry coordinator who manages the food pantries at the three MHCC locations is being paid partly from the college’s General Fund that would otherwise be used to staff the desk in the Student Union, to support services there.

During the Nov. 22 ASHMCC meeting, student Financial Affairs Representative Naba Jaffar said of the SAF that “we should definitely increase it.” She also said the Board of Education should look at adopting better, alternative funding for coach salaries.

ASMHCC will discuss the fee increase with the Finance Council, which is made up of student representatives from the various co-curricular programs and Athletics teams who rely on SAF funds. The recommended increase in student fees is happening in parallel with the Finance Council’s budget process, which determines how the funds generated by the Student Activities Fee are to be divided among the groups.

Both processes will happen over the months of January and February before finally being brought to the MHCC District Board of Education, which has final say after considering any further public input.

Sory Ibrahim Diarra, the appointed student Academic Affairs Representative, encouraged students to participate in the ASMHCC budget process. “They are the one paying for the fee. So, they should be involved in the process,” he said.

There are many ways students can learn about and participate in the student fee process: they can visit student representatives during their office hours or attend the weekly ASMHCC meetings on Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m., or the forums that student government has scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 30 and Wednesday, Feb. 7, all in the Student Union.

They can also attend District Board meetings (all meetings can be found on the MHCC website, on the Board of Education’s page under the “about” tab.)