Your Mazama gym fees could potentially increase by four dollars. The student fees committee recently recommended an increase in the fee to assist with maintenance and repairs for the current Mazama gym at Central Oregon Community College.
This was the first time the board of directors has taken an in-depth look at student fees in the past 10 years, according to Alicia Moore, dean of students at COCC.
“The Mazama gym fee was passed in 2001 and was originally passed to cover the cost of repairing and replacing equipment,” Moore explained.
Before this time, there had never been an established fund designated specifically for gym repair and maintenance, according to Moore. This fee was initially started at $16 per class for Health and Human Performance classes on campus, and the same fee was charged for individuals wanting to use the gym. The fee itself is a user specific fee, meaning that only those who want a Mazama gym membership or who take an HHP class have to pay the fee. It is a once a term cost, so even if students take more than one HHP class, the fee is only paid once.
“Since the fee was passed, it has not been increased,” Moore said. “We’ve recognized the need to raise the fee because often the college has to pay beyond what the fee covers for repairs and maintenance.”
The increase of this fee comes at a crucial time for maintaining and repairing the Mazama gym, according to Julie Downing, chair of the COCC Health and Human Performance department.
“We wish we didn’t have to raise the fees,” Downing said. “However, it is really instrumental in keeping the Mazama gym open and safe for students to use.”
For every dollar the Mazama gym fee is increased, revenue from the fee is increased by $3,300, according to Downing.
“Without this fee increase we probably would not be able to offer many HHP classes and we would have to have the gym open fewer hours,” Downing said. “It is something students should be aware of but hopefully it won’t impact students all that much. My hunch is that there wouldn’t be that much of an impact as far as the number of students who choose to use the gym or take HHP classes.”
The fee increase would raise Mazama gym fees to $20. That would generate $64,000 in fees where previously the fee generated $53,000, according to Moore.
“This number is of course based off of enrollment, so when enrollment is down the fees go down also,” Moore said. “The college will still most likely have to supplement that occasionally, but not at such a large capacity.”
The recommendation will go to the college affairs committee before being approved. The goal is to get it approved so that it could go into effect spring term, according to Moore.
One of the main goals of reviewing the fees was to break down the fees so it would be easier for students to understand what they are paying for, according to Moore.
“Overall the board of directors is very conservative in their response to raising fees,” Moore said. “Our board is not willing to dramatically raise student fees.”
Molly Svendsen
The Broadside