A new senator, two bills and a presentation about a hefty student tech fee increase were on the slate of a busy senate meeting for the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, Reno on Sept. 4.
The senate is made up of students elected from each college and meets in the Rita Laden Senate Chambers on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.
Could student tech fees double next year?
Three representatives from the university’s technology and library’s administration came to the Sept. 4 senate meeting to present a student tech fee proposal.
Students currently pay an extra six dollars per credit hour towards the regular tech fee, which supports university computers, classroom updates, software and other tech programs. They also pay an extra three dollars per credit hour towards the iNtegrate tech fee, which supports the registration platform MyNevada.
University Libraries and the Office of Information Technology are going to the Board of Regents, the Nevada System of Higher Education’s governing body, in December. They’re looking to have both tech fees doubled, according to the presentation.
This would mean that starting in Fall 2025, students who paid a total of nine dollars per credit hour to support the university’s tech this year would see their costs go up to 18 dollars per credit hour.
ASUN wasn’t given the power to vote on this proposed fee –– nor will it go to the students on the next ASUN ballot. Instead, two ASUN representatives sit on an advisory board that offers feedback on the proposal: Liesel Kemmelmeier, ASUN’s Vice President, and Gabriella Detrick, ASUN’s Director of Executive Affairs.
Sasi K. Pillay, the university’s Vice President for Information Technology, told the senate that the fee will help the University’s technology catch up with rising costs.
“Since we have not had an increase in the student technology fee since 2017, costs have continued to escalate, and the two main causes are cost of labor, for all the salaries, the entire 23% [cost-of-living adjustment raise, implemented last year by the state] is borne by the student tech fee […] and the other driver for cost is the cost of software. The vendors we depend on; they typically raise their prices 5-6% per year, and we have to pay,” Pillay said.
Pillay added that of the roughly 300 outdated public computers the university needs to replace, only 60-70 were replaced this year.
Catherine Cardwell, Dean of Libraries, brought up potentially controversial new additions to the suite of university-provided software.
“We haven’t been able to respond to any new requests,” Cardwell said. “They [students] talked about this tool that I didn’t know about, Quizlet: it’s an AI-based tool that allows you to study. We know that there’s awful AI, but we also know that there’s AI that needs to prepare you for the workforce.”
PIllay also suggested an AI math tutor as a solution to the university’s continuing struggles to get freshmen through their first math class.
Ed Huffman, Executive Director of the Office of Digital Learning, named the university’s single largest tech bill –– without disclosing its number.
“The biggest cost for us is the cost of Canvas, and that goes up every year,” Huffman said. “The tech fee doesn’t.”
New College of Science Senator sworn in
Natalie Palmer, the only candidate of three who came to and presented at the Sept. 4 meeting, became the newest senator for the College of Science, joining Emma Doty, Vera Vaz and Camille Levy.
In her presentation, Palmer emphasized her campus involvement, use of resources like the Tutoring Center and the unique challenge of representing a group of students that she argued, “have a lack of community from my perspective; their workload makes them extremely stressed.”
Palmer started as an intern for ASUN, afterwards working in event programming.
Doty stressed in a question after the presentation that the College of Science senators struggled to get in touch with Louisa Hope-Weeks, Dean of the College of Science, last year. Palmer replied that she’d be persistent in trying to set up regular meetings.
Following Palmer’s presentation, the senate deliberated on her possible appointment. It came to a nearly-unanimous vote in favor, with only Joel Martin, a senator for the College of Liberal Arts, abstaining.
Rena Arneson, ASUN’s chief justice, swore in the new senator.
Two bills pass fast
Two bills hit the senate table from the Committee on Government Operations and saw speedy debates.
The first was “A Bill to Remove the Veterans Services Liaison Position from the Committee on IDEA,” authored by Doty and Leaf Acklin, a senator for the College of Liberal Arts. Previously, there was a liaison to the University’s office of Veteran Services on both the Committee on IDEA and the Committee on Democratic Civic Engagement. The bill proposed removing the position from the Committee of IDEA, leaving just the one on the other committee.
Aween Ali, Speaker of the Senate, said she previously held the liaison position on the Committee on Democratic Civic Engagement and maintaining both positions confused plans for Veteran Services.
“A Bill to Enhance Engagement with UNR Lake Tahoe Campus by the Director of Executive Outreach,” was authored by Ethan Lawler, senator for the College of Education, and Acklin. It added to the Director of Executive Outreach’s duties a responsibility to act as the primary liaison with the Lake Tahoe campus.
Carmina Aglubat, Speaker Pro Tempore of the senate, praised the bill.
“This is the third attempt to get Lake Tahoe representation, and I feel we finally hit the sweet spot.”
Both bills passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m.
Peregrine Hart can be reached via email at peregrineh@unr.edu, or via Instagram @pintofperegrine.
