As the first item in our coverage of issues being discussed in the 2007 Florida legislature, we’ll consider university technology fees.

Along with tuition, students in Florida’s State University System (which includes UF) pay a number of fees. Each of these fees must be established by the legislature, which also generally dictates how the fee will be set and allocated, including caps on increases.

For example, students at UF pay a Building fee, Capital Improvement Trust Fund fee, Student Financial Aid fee, Activity and Service Fee, Athletic Fee, Health Fee, and Transportation Access fee; out-of-state students pay an additional Non-Resident Fee and Non-Resident Student Financial Aid fee.

In addition to existing fees, UF’s administration recently began advocating for an Academic Enhancement Program fee of $500 per semester for undergraduates. In the Spring 2007 student body elections, voters approved a non-binding referendum supporting the establishment of a renewable energy fee not to exceed $0.50 per credit hour. In either case, the proposal needs the approval of the legislature before it can be implemented.

Another proposal which has been kicked around in recent years is the creation of a technology fee to provide more funding for IT projects on campus. The universities have been pushing the fee, but students have opposed it, because the proposed language didn’t give students a hand in allocating the fee (unlike e.g. the Activity and Service fee and Transportation Access fee). However, this year the proposed bill incorporates language that specifies student input in setting and allocating the fee, and requires that funds be spent on technology that directly benefits students. The Senate bill, S. 850, was introduced by Sen. Al Lawson (D-06) and referred to the Higher Education and Higher Education Appropriations committees.

The bill specifies that the initial fee cannot be more than $10 per hour, and cannot increase more than 8% annually. For comparison, in AY 2006-07, the highest student fee for in-state students in undergrad, graduate, or law programs was the Activity and Service fee at $9.24 per hour; the A&S fee funds Student Government and student organizations, Recreational Sports, and the Reitz Union. If the technology fee at UF were set in the upper end of the permitted range, it would likely raise over $10 million in its first year.

With student opposition weakened or withdrawn, the bill would seem to have a better chance to pass this year. However, Gov. Crist’s office has stated that the governor does not support any increase in tuition or fees, so even if the bill makes its way out of the legislature, it may have a hard time getting past the governor’s desk.