University of Louisiana Rated Most Affordable in State

[Just1More]

Question. Not that UL would want to, but could UL charge admission for students to all athletic events? If so, could UL instead tack on say $100 per student per semester for admission to every event? Is that any different than assessing fees on themselves?

You asked two different questions. UL can charge students at the gates to enter athletic events. It would not be the intelligent way to go. It would reduce the number of students attending athletic events and would not be worth the limited revenue.

The other question of "tacking on" a per student per semester... is the tuition increase we are talking about. That used to be impossible for UL. It is now possible based on a vote of the student body at UL. The dilemma we are in is that everyone is trying to figure out ways to cover budget shortfalls and the idea of adding a student fee is unattractive.

I would not ever present a student fee for athletics without tying it to a specific mission and a potential cost reimbursement feature to particular students. For instance, RCAF could agree that for every home game, all students in attendance, will go into a lottery where 100 of those students will be reimbursed their athletic fee. Another separate reimbursement might be an achievement based initiative. Participating corporate sponsors could be solicited, through RCAF, to reimburse students that achieve a specific semester GPA, that also provide proof they attended x number of athletic events. Regardless of my theoretical proposition, there are very workable solutions for making an athletic fee not only pass but also be less painful and very rewarding for our students.

This is a major university after all. We should have within our ranks more people with great business sense and solid marketing skills.

[CajunAmos]

I thought what was actually "legal" was for student assessed fees to be used for facilities only, and that the funds could not bet used for the general athletic budget.

As an aside, I also think the state should look into "athletic fees" in high schools, as my kids paid for an "activity fee" card all four years of high school that got you into all sporting or other events at school. I don't know why a college would be any different.

[Just1More]

I thought what was actually "legal" was for student assessed fees to be used for facilities only, and that the funds could not bet used for the general athletic budget.

As an aside, I also think the state should look into "athletic fees" in high schools, as my kids paid for an "activity fee" card all four years of high school that got you into all sporting or other events at school. I don't know why a college would be any different.

We are already capable of raising fees directly related to facility improvments. "Athletic fees" that go directly into the general athletic budget require a vote of the student body. ULM attempted it and the vote was against the athletic fee. ULM, besides probably having an overall disinterested student body, did not market it to the students very well. All it looked like to the average student was "you can either pay what you're paying now or pay more... which do you choose?"

It takes some skill to get students to vote to increase their own education cost/investment.