A resolution to increase the student activity fee by $1.10 for the 2017-2018 school year was passed at the ASFLC meeting on Wednesday.
The fee is intended to offset deficits and increase RSO funding, according to Resolution 16-041.
The fee, which had been previously discussed at the October 5th meeting, passed unanimously.
Before the fee increase can be instituted, it must pass the Institutional Fee Review Board. The ASFLC is still looking for students to sit on the board, Connor Cafferty, student body president, said.
As The Independent has previously reported, revenue from student fees were $28,000 less than expected due to low enrollment.
29 cents out of the $1.10 increase will go towards covering this gap, Connor Cafferty, student body president, said.
The fee will also fund the new Durango Transit contract, which runs Fall 2017 to Spring 2022 and will result in the total increase of $119,178.85 over those five years, according to the resolution.
Money raised by the fee will also go towards RSO budgets, which have either been cut or remained stagnant for the last few years, according to the resolution.
The funds will go towards both the RSO I grant pool and the allocation for RSO IIs and IIIs, according to the resolution.
Student fees are charged on a per-credit basis, so for a full-time undergraduate taking 15 credits this will mean an additional $16.50 a semester.
Executive team election protocol was also discussed at the meeting.
No senator spoke in support of requiring teams running for executive office to have ASFLC experience.
However, multiple senators expressed concern that teams running for office need to understand the time commitment involved with holding executive office. Otherwise, the winning team could find themselves overwhelmed.
“Let them know what it’s like to be president and vice president,” Tuck Houston, student senator, said.
There is an ebb and flow to Senate participation, Mason Shea, student body vice president, said.
Certain years sees multiple teams running for executive office, while other years one team runs uncontested.
“It just seems like we might back ourselves into a corner if we put stricter requirements on the executive teams,” Shea said.