SMC Decides Against Allowing Students to Opt Out of Optional Fees Online
The bursar’s office at Santa Monica College is where students can not only pay their fees, but ask to have optional fees removed. The two optional fees include a $19.50 Associated Students membership fee, which provides several benefits such as unlimited transportation on the Big Blue Bus and a $13 ID card fee. Taken on Thursday, March 22, 2018 in Santa Monica, California. (Ethan Lauren/Corsair Photo)
Last semester, Santa Monica College's Student Affairs Committee proposed the idea of students being able to opt out of A.S. fees online, but a recent follow-up shows that no immediate changes are in progress.
Every semester, students at Santa Monica College see two fees they need to pay: a $19.50 Associated Student body membership fee and a $13 student ID card fee. While the A.S. fee provides benefits such as unlimited transportation on the Big Blue Bus, the ID fee provides a less discernible benefit, as students who lose their card must then pay a $30 replacement fee.
The student affairs committee on campus updates and follows the administrative regulations as one of their core duties. These regulations includes those of the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO), who require community colleges like SMC to follow.
Regarding these A.S. and student ID fees, the CCCCO student fee handbook states that “it is imperative that the optional nature of the fee be communicated to students and that students have an effective means of declining to pay the fee.”
The CCCCO later notes a suggestion that colleges can add a step online when paying fees where students can check a box to opt-out of optional fees.
Michael Tuitasi, the vice president of student services, also sits on the student affairs committee. “Right now, we haven’t discussed as far as changing that, just based on the system we have and the format we currently have,” Tuitasi said. “Everything of course is up for discussion, but it hasn’t been something we’re talking about.”
Currently, the process to opt-out is by going to either the bursar’s office or the admissions and records and asking them to remove the fees, which can be done up until the first two weeks of the semester. However, the lines can sometimes take more than 30 minutes during those first weeks.
Students such as James Andrews, a psychology major, has been opting-out of these fees by getting up early in the morning and waiting in the lines at the Bursar's office.
"All the perks they have, I already have them at home. It's not worth the money I have to spend, especially when there's other fees I have to spend it on," Andrews said.
Beatriz Magallon, chair of the student affairs committee, voiced her opinion on the merit of the ID fee. “That’s where the language of the Chancellor’s office comes in,” Magallon said. “Where is it that they should be charging $13 every semester? It’s something that should be important to students. The A.S. fee I fully support, I’m not discounting that at all.”
Student trustee Chase Matthews sits on the board of both the SMC Board of Trustees and the A.S. Board of Directors meetings. “I’m such a strong supporter of paying-in to the A.S. allotment, I’ve never thought about opting out, I’ve always supported and think it’s something all students should support,” Matthews said. “It’s a great thing for students to buy into. It provides funding for essential community-building events that make SMC one of the greatest institutions.”
Tuitasi went on to talk about how there are discussions about many fees are levied on students in these committee meetings, but the actual process to make changes requires a more extensive look from the various channels on campus.
Though the requirement for optional fees have been properly marked as optional according to the administrative regulations, Magallon thinks it’s important to know where student's money is going.
Magallon said if disclosing how the money is spent is "not pushed by students, then I don’t see how [it'll get done]. It’s revenue for the school, but it impacts students."