https://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/ ... s-n1145171


"Buried in each student's yearly cost of almost $23,000 was a required fee of $2,340 solely to finance the school's sports teams. The money was not for using the gym, or for funding student clubs and activities. It was only for underwriting the costs of athletic teams — and a student could only find out about it by visiting and searching the school's website.

"For someone who doesn't care a whole lot about athletics, it seems a bit much for me to have to contribute," said Waltemyer. "I have two jobs. I'm a full-time student. And I'm paying for athletes' scholarships? To me, that hurt."


"For Waltemyer, the cost is excessive. She estimates that when she graduates next year, she will need to repay $20,000 in loans. Without a fee for sports teams, her loans would be half of that."



Appalachian State University
Athletics student fee:$760
Total gained from student fees:$12,518,144
Athletic department revenues: $36,940,867
Revenue paid by students: 34%



I feel like this is going to be something that starts to get challenged in court in the next 10 years as college sports continue their billion dollar rise. I have to agree with her on this. Fees like this are one of the biggest signs that its not about academics anymore. When these fees are going through the roof like some schools are, I think its time to take a long hard look at sports vs academics. When I was at App I think the fees were a few hundred. I realize this is mainly a sports board, so I'm sure most will think this is all ridiculous and start listing off things they think the sports programs provide. Well, imagine you are that student working two jobs to keep your head above water, busting your but every day, and finding out that you are paying for athletic scholarships for someone else to go to that school for free. That's a hard pill to swallow when you are sitting there in some store at 2am because its your turn to close up while the athlete can go out and party up without that responsibility.
Some of these schools get 50%+ from these fees alone. Thats nuts. Again, should really bring in to question those sports programs. I think this is one of the surest signs its time for some schools to be done with sports and get back to the whole reason our university system exists to begin with. Like I said, this will probably head to court eventually, at least for state funded schools.

This is where someone says that the students pay for liberal OR ultra conservative speakers and orchestra/choral music that many some students don't attend..

These fees are approved by student elected representatives. If the current students don't want these fees, they need to press their elected representatives to change that.

At App, at least the students get admission to all sporting events with this fee. At most schools, that is not the case. I understand not all students are interested in sports. Likewise, not all students will use the Appalcart or Library -- but agreed upon fees from all students go to those as well.

If students are upset about having to pay any of the fees, they shouldn't have agreed to pay those when they chose to attend App.

I still view it as a "the only reason your employer has ever heard of the school name on your resume unless they're an alum" fee. Then again, I'm heavily biased because I attended every single football game and quite a few bball games, so I never thought twice about it.

AppStateNews wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 9:58 am

These fees are approved by student elected representatives. If the current students don't want these fees, they need to press their elected representatives to change that.

At App, at least the students get admission to all sporting events with this fee. At most schools, that is not the case. I understand not all students are interested in sports. Likewise, not all students will use the Appalcart or Library -- but agreed upon fees from all students go to those as well.

If students are upset about having to pay any of the fees, they shouldn't have agreed to pay those when they chose to attend App.

The fees are proposed by the administration, approved by the board of trustees and then approved by the Board of Governors.
The students have little to no control over any fees, they have protested the increase in athletics fees in the past and they have still gone up.

ArmantiWaterSafety wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:18 am

I still view it as a "the only reason your employer has ever heard of the school name on your resume unless they're an alum" fee. Then again, I'm heavily biased because I attended every single football game and quite a few bball games, so I never thought twice about it.

People that actively and heavily recruited from the college of business and the college of ed when football was being referred to as a D2 team would prove you wrong.

appgrouch wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:23 am

AppStateNews wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 9:58 am

These fees are approved by student elected representatives. If the current students don't want these fees, they need to press their elected representatives to change that.

At App, at least the students get admission to all sporting events with this fee. At most schools, that is not the case. I understand not all students are interested in sports. Likewise, not all students will use the Appalcart or Library -- but agreed upon fees from all students go to those as well.

If students are upset about having to pay any of the fees, they shouldn't have agreed to pay those when they chose to attend App.

The fees are proposed by the administration, approved by the board of trustees and then approved by the Board of Governors.
The students have little to no control over any fees, they have protested the increase in athletics fees in the past and they have still gone up.

And there are elected student representatives before it goes to the board of trustees. I know -- I was one of them and voted for two increases. If rejected by the student reps, it doesn't go to the board of trustees. Now, I don't think it's ever been rejected by the student reps...

appgrouch wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:28 am

ArmantiWaterSafety wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:18 am

I still view it as a "the only reason your employer has ever heard of the school name on your resume unless they're an alum" fee. Then again, I'm heavily biased because I attended every single football game and quite a few bball games, so I never thought twice about it.

People that actively and heavily recruited from the college of business and the college of ed when football was being referred to as a D2 team would prove you wrong.

*The only reason 95% of employers have heard of the school name on your resume*

If the student fee is 10% of the cost, how would her outstanding loans be half as much without it.

Everyone wishes the athletic fee was less, but let's be honest when making these claims.

Friendly reminder to join the Yosef Club.

Consider it just part of “general tuition”. I would say more “general students” and parents do just that as they enjoy and see as a benefit of athletic programs as part of their college experience. Especially good programs like App.

Questions:

When the government provides “free” tuition for everyone, will that include the athletic fees?

Also, when tuition is “free”, won’t it be necessary to pay athletes to come to APP?

I pay for my tickets...........and I pay taxes to keep costs low for public education

Saint3333 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:56 am

If the student fee is 10% of the cost, how would her outstanding loans be half as much without it.

Looks like she didn't get her money's worth out of her math classes.

Government getting involved in the loan process was a catalyst in the increased costs of higher education. "Free education" will cause further inflation.

AppBox wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 06, 2021 4:39 pm

Saint3333 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:56 am

If the student fee is 10% of the cost, how would her outstanding loans be half as much without it.

Looks like she didn't get her money's worth out of her math classes.

Its possible she didnt borrow the full cost of tuition

Ms. Waltemyer should’ve attended somewhere cheaper to attend other than “D2” JMU. No wonder the Dukes athletic budget looks so impressive, their athletic fee is 3x App’s.

I have never understood this complaint. Prospective students can research their tuition costs prior to enrolling. Not sure why it’s so surprising to her, especially considering she’s a junior and has been paying the fee for years.

As NewApp pointed out, tuition covers things that not everyone will agree with...kind of like taxpayers.

Saint3333 wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 06, 2021 4:42 pm

Government getting involved in the loan process was a catalyst in the increased costs of higher education. "Free education" will cause further inflation.

Since the government will forgive student loans, to be fair my mortgage loan should be forgiven too.

When I attended, tuition and room and board totaled $910 per semester. But we lived in dorms with tight rooms, bathroom down the hall, etc. Living in the fancy condos is only one thing that has driven up the costs.

If you ask and got an honest answer from most AD’s and college officials around the country, I believe most would say that they only care about football and basketball and it would not bother them much to cancel all the rest.

Many students graduate and will not live in a place they pay for as nice as their college residence for 5 or more years post graduation.

ArmantiWaterSafety wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:18 am

I still view it as a "the only reason your employer has ever heard of the school name on your resume unless they're an alum" fee. Then again, I'm heavily biased because I attended every single football game and quite a few bball games, so I never thought twice about it.

Yep. This is very much the reality. This is a large reason why I give to Yosef Football success makes my degrees more valued. I also worked 32 hours while in school and double majored. I paid off my own loans and my wife's around 6 years after she graduated. No offense to this young lady, but she is naive.