By Stephanie Shaver on January 2025
Everyone dreads the word “fee.” It’s universal, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we all hate fees whether they are hidden, overdraft, late fees, or many others, the list goes on. Now, what if I told you that, as a student at Metropolitan State University, you’re subject to certain fees included in your tuition? You probably wouldn’t be too surprised. But what if I also told you that you’re being charged for a service you’re not even using? A service that many students haven’t used and likely never will.
Tuition and Fees
As college students, many of us live paycheck to paycheck while racking up debt in hopes of landing a higher-paying career to pay it off. Moreover, as students at Metropolitan State University, most of us aren’t “traditional” college students. Finding ways to save on tuition can mean the difference between buying a required textbook or feeding your family.
If you’ve reviewed your account activity on e-services, you’ve probably noticed the six fees included in tuition:
- MSUSA fee: $0.08 per credit, used to help fund activities representing students.
- Academic Computing (Technology) fee: $14 per credit, supporting computer labs and related technologies.
- Health Service fee: $2.00 per credit, funding healthcare services for students.
- Student Activity fee: $4.00 per credit, no additional explanation provided.
- Student Center fee: $8.50 per credit, supporting the construction, maintenance, and operation of the student center.
- Parking fee: $13.00 per credit, assessed to students, faculty, staff, and visitors to use the Metro State University parking ramp.
Parking Fees for Everyone?
The purpose of this article stems from my experience with fees as a Metro State student. Over two and a half years, I’ve appeared on campus three times. Each time, I paid for parking because I didn’t have a student ID to scan in the ramp. I was told I could get an ID by traveling across campus, but I was late for class, and it was minus 30 degrees with windchill. So, I paid $16 for parking. The other two times I visited campus, I avoided the hassle of finding the office for student IDs.
In total, I spent around $36 on parking during my three campus visits, despite thinking parking fees were covered by tuition. According to my “Charges and Payments to Students” records, I’ve paid $897 in parking fees to Metro State since 2022, despite hardly using campus facilities.
The University’s Explanation for the Parking Fee
When Metro State administration learned I was writing about the parking fees, the school’s website updated its explanation for the mandatory charge:
“Background on parking fee: The city of St. Paul required the university to build the parking ramp before allowing construction of the Jason R. Carter Science Education Center … The ramp could only be financed with state revenue bonds, which requires us to assess parking fees to cover the debt service, maintenance, and operations of our parking facilities across all locations.”
This decision by past student council members has left current students paying for resources they may rarely use, like the parking ramp. Since COVID-19, online learning has changed campus usage patterns, yet students continue to fund on-campus amenities. The parking ramp is also open to the public, who are charged to use it, further complicating the fairness of the fee.
As our university community adapts to remote learning, it’s crucial for current and future student representatives to reassess these policies, ensuring they align with today’s students’ needs in an increasingly digital world.