There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Every student enrolled at the University of Connecticut pays mandatory fees, which support university programs and services. One of these fees, the General University fee, is set to increase by $98, according to prior reporting by the Daily Campus. The Student Activity and Service Fee Advisory Committee (SASFAC) recently held the first of two budget hearings to outline where the money from the General University fee will actually go.
The object of discussion was the General University fee, which helps fund a number of campus offices and resources, including the Student Activities department, the One Card Office, Student Health and Wellness and the athletics department, among others, according to the Bursar’s webpage. As part of the hearing, each beneficiary submitted a document explaining their usage of the fee funding and a summary of justification for a fee increase. The first hearing was held Thursday, Nov. 14, with the second scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19.
The athletic bands program was the first to present their case; they’re seeking a 13.27 percent increase in operating budget for fiscal year 2027 in the order of $65,000. The School of Fine Arts funds the music department’s educational initiatives, but the athletic bands are considered extracurricular and so they receive money from the General University fee and the UConn Foundation. The program includes the UConn Marching Band and up to four contemporaneous pep bands, which play at the Huskies’ athletic contests for football, men’s and women’s basketball and hockey, in addition to numerous off-campus events like parades and special team appearances. Their SASFAC packet explains that the additional fee funding can help pay for full-time graduate assistants and support staff as well as instrument and uniform maintenance costs.
Additional changes are in store for the One Card Office as well, which oversees student ID cards and related programs. According to the One Card webpage, UConn ID cards are used to access residence halls and labs, the Student Recreation Center, special events, printing and library services in addition to being associated with student debit accounts – more commonly referred to as Husky Bucks. Students and faculty each receive one ID card for free, but replacements cost $30. Their SASFAC narrative explains that the only revenue the One Card Office receives is from the card replacement charge and a 7 percent fee on each Husky Bucks transaction. They project card costs to increase and revenues to decline, so they are seeking more General University fee funding to offset the loss. One partnership the office believes will benefit stakeholders is a partnership with food delivery service Grubhub. Students will be able to use Husky Bucks to fund Grubhub orders both on and off campus, explained One Card director Stephanie Kernozicky.
“Even when you go home, you can use your Husky Bucks…UConn will see a revenue share from this,” Kernozicky said at the hearing.
The One Card Office is also researching “mobile credentials” – a system which could allow students’ phones to be used instead of an ID card in some contexts, similar to tap-to-pay technology. However, the office explained such a change may require hardware and infrastructure upgrades, which would need to be conducted in partnership with other university departments and depends on the contracts and agreements in place for those needs.
The Student Activities department expressed that it will be comfortable for the next school year but will not be able to support its current programming and activity initiatives in 2027 under the current budget.
“We could potentially lose jobs and positions…We need to be able to support the students,” explained Trisha Hawthorne-Noble, the interim director of Student Activities and director of leadership and organizational development.
The department’s summary document outlines how they currently use the fee funding to host large-scale events on-campus. Student Activities is behind Family Weekend, Homecoming and Weekend of Welcome, and works with student organizations for activity support including SUBOG, Late Night and HuskyTHON. The department also contributes to leadership and professional development activities and community outreach initiatives, in tandem with necessary business affairs, Trustee Student Organization Support services and providing assistance to the Fraternity and Sorority Development Office.
The document also reveals they contribute to the funding of complementary student tickets to athletic events, and use the fee funding for “Husky Roadshows,” which transport students to and from off-campus athletic contests like at Rentschler Field and the XL Center. Hawthorne-Noble said their work benefits thousands of UConn students and additional funding is necessary to continue supporting the jobs needed to logistically maintain the level of activities and goals the department has been conducting.
The Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts also receives General University fee funding. Their attachment details the use of funding for marketing performances and paying for 80 student workers and eight full-time employees. It also reports that fee funding is used to pay 30 percent of the director’s salary and partially supports an agreement with the UConn Facilities group to maintain the building and production spaces as part of a wholesale-style agreement. According to the submission, Jorgensen receives substantial revenue in the form of private donations and cultural arts grants, but asked for $112,000 in additional fee funding for fiscal year 2027. Part of the request mentions that the Jorgensen facilities have become popular for use by student organizations such as SUBOG, with each event now incurring a $1,000 personnel charge in order to compensate for the additional time and workforce need.
The SASFAC committee is an advisory group that recommends changes to the university’s fee structure. The provost and vice presidents for student life and finance receive their report and can choose to endorse or amend fee proposals, which ultimately get considered by the Board of Trustees. The committee is comprised of staff members, including the bursar and representatives from the Office of Budgets and Planning, in addition to student delegates from the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Student Senate. David Clokey, the assistant vice president for student life and enrollment, chairs the committee and ran the hearing.
Students interested in discussing the General University fee in relation to the Athletics Department, Student Health and Wellness, Student Union and Student Recreation Center are encouraged to attend the second hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19 starting at 3:15 p.m. in Husky Suite A, located next to Mango in the Student Recreation Center. A block for public comment is set from 5:30 to 6 p.m.
A slate of hearings to discuss the Student Activities fee, which financially supports Tier III student organizations, will be held in the Spring 2025 semester.
For more information on the Student Activity and Service Fee Advisory Committee and for the hearing transcript and attachments, visit sfac.uconn.edu.