With college tuition higher than ever, some universities are getting creative by disguising additional costs as mandatory fees.
Just last week, I logged onto my account at Northeastern University to try and waive the health plan fee that my private Boston-based university charges. Since I receive health insurance elsewhere, I’m able to opt out of paying the $1,975 fee each semester. But not every charge is so easily resolved. I’m also charged a $70 student center fee, a $109 student activity fee and a $46 recreation fee, and there’s no getting around them.
Turns out these fees are a common occurrence at colleges and universities across the country, and are even greater at many public schools. Eileen O’Connor, the Director of Communications and External Affairs at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, says that the cost of “tuition” at a public school is returned to the state’s general fund while the institutions keep the additional fees.
“Institutions set their own fees, which [at public institutions] are often three or four times higher than tuition,” says O’Connor. “The reason student fees have continued to climb over the years is directly related to the level at which the colleges are funded by the state. When an institution does not receive the level of state support needed to operate, it must raise student fees. Pretty simple.”
What’s not quite as simple is figuring out just what the fees are and where they’re going. Here are a few examples of fees being charged at universities across the country and where the money is heading.
