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Students face increase in education fee
by Marqueita Sam
The UH System has decided to increase distance education fees from $40 per class to $140 per class
beginning the spring 2002 semester. Currently, the distance education fee for online classes is $140
per class; the new increase will not affect these classes.
Many faculty members in the UH System do not believe the increase is fair, especially for students
at Cinco Ranch and Sugar Land teaching centers. And concerned faculty members at UH- Clear Lake
believe the increase in fees will have a great impact on the diversity of students.
According to Dr. Edward Hayes, senior vice president and provost at UH-Clear Lake, the system will
use the increase in distance education fees to recover the added cost of delivering classes at these
sites. The increase also will cover the cost of transportation for faculty and help the system offer
more services such as support services, computer labs assistants and interactive television.
"Originally the distance education fee was capped," said Dr. Edward Hugetz, associate vice
chancellor for Outreach at University of Houston.
"The fee only applied to the first two classes students enrolled in for that semester, leaving no
extra cost for other classes students are enrolled in for that semester.
"Now the UH System has taken the cap off the distance education fee, applying the fee increase to
all distance education classes students are enrolled in for that semester."
"The system's increase in fees is small compared to universities that charge two and three times
more than what the UH System is charging," Hayes said.
But some students will feel the difference.
"The dramatic increase in distance education fees is not going to be an easy thing to deal with,"
said Crystal Klyng, a graduate student in business at the Sugar Land teaching center. "Three classes
at $140 per class may cause me to graduate in December 2002, rather than graduating in May 2001 as
originally intended. I just can't afford the increase. I do not receive financial aid, and I am paying
for school with my savings. I also have children, so I am really getting worried."
Almost 90 percent of students who are participants in distance education programs take only one or
two classes per semester.
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