Utah audit: Why should all college students pay study abroad fee? Library fee?

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Some university fees don’t meet ‘reasonable test,’ auditor says

SALT LAKE CITY — Some student fees assessed by Utah’s public college and universities don’t meet the “reasonable test.”

That’s the conclusion of a new audit released Tuesday by the office of Utah State Auditor John Dougall.

Dougall called on state institutions and the newly constituted Utah Board of Higher Education to reevaluate mandatory fees to determine whether they are reasonable.

“Fees that fail to meet this test should be eliminated. Students should receive a direct benefit for each fee they pay. Also, students should receive a partial refund of those fees for services they were unable to access during the COVID-19 closures,” Dougall said in a statement.

The audit singled out fees assessed by the state’s research universities, the University of Utah and Utah State University.

According to the audit, the U. charges all students a study abroad fee regardless of whether they participate in the program.

“The University of Utah uses that revenue to offset the costs for the limited number of students who participate in the study abroad program. While all students pay the fee, very few students participate in the program. As such, the study abroad fee fails to meet the reasonable fee test because it fails to provide proportional benefit to the fee payers,” the audit says.

The U. also charges all students a utility fee, which also does not meet the “reasonable fee test,” the audit states.

“It is reasonable to assume education-related utility costs would be paid from the U.’s general fund and a separate student fee should not be imposed,” according to the audit.

The report also takes issue with USU’s library fee, which is assessed to all students.

“USU uses the funds to subsidize the cost of library resources, including for nonstudents. It is reasonable to assume education related library costs would be paid from the USU’s general fund as part of tuition that USU imposes,” the audit states.

U. and USU officials said they were reviewing the audit and would respond to questions later Tuesday.

Not only does the audit question the reasonableness of fees, it questions the processes by which fees are assessed, concluding that Utah System of Higher Education institutions “fail to comply with fee setting policy” such as public notice of meetings or keeping minutes of such meetings.

Moreover, the system’s truth-in-tuition process fails to provide expected transparency and accountability and fee boards at colleges and universities likewise “lack transparency,” according to the audit’s findings.

For instance, USU’s fee board keeps detailed minutes and records audio of its meetings. But auditors also determined that the University of Utah’s fee board “does not keep agendas, minutes or record its meetings.”

Neither USU nor the U. publishes the membership of the boards nor provides contact information for them. In addition, neither institution notifies the public when they hold fee board meetings, it says.

While the audit acknowledges mandatory fees are discussed in public college and university trustee meetings, during truth-in-tuition meetings and in regents meetings, the “discussions appear to rely heavily on the recommendations of the fee boards. As a result, the regents allow most of the meaningful deliberation to effectively occur ‘behind closed doors,’ which limits student and public participation,” the audit states.

The Utah System of Higher Education’s written response to the audit notes at least one regent has attended institution truth-in-tuition hearings the past two years.

“As has always been the case, the institution truth-in-tuition hearings, institution board of trustees meetings and board of regents meetings are open public meetings in which students, parents and other interested individuals can hear deliberations and comment on proposed fee modifications,” the response said in part.

“The regents will amend policy to require that student fee boards provide a meaningful documented report on the fee board’s deliberations and recommendations to the board of trustees in a public meeting.”

This story will be updated.

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