If you did not like that story about how cable companies bundle their product (so you have to pay for a bunch of channels that you wont use) you probably will
not like this one. Basically we are doing the same thing in our athletic fees at universities.
N'keya Peters (Tue, Thur 8am-9:20am)
ReplyDeleteI do not like the fact that athletic fees are "bundled" into the tuition bill at universities. These athletes often enjoy free room and board and free tuition while other students struggle. On top of that most walk around with a condescending attitude. I do not think many students are aware of the fact that they fund their schools athletics. As the mother in the article stated, some students enjoy games and go once in a while but thats not what they are there for. Maybe the students who are interested in athletics should get charged while others aren't. I wish that could happen but it most likely wont.
Hyun Shim (Andy)
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to hear that on top of increasing academic tuitions each year, we also have to pay for increasing 'fees' that some students actually do not have to pay for. Of course students often enjoy watching their school win games, but students, including student-athletes are in college to pursue higher education. If the school needs to increase those hidden fees, maybe they should reduce annual pay for the President, Deans, and of course, coaches, instead of increasing student's tuition and fees.
Max Ufberg
ReplyDeleteMWF 2:00-2:50
I also find these findings to be very disturbing. That being said, I do understand the realistic importance of a good athletic program to a school's popularity and admissions. The sad truth is that athletics -- not necessarily academics -- can help put a school on the radar. However, I do think that the school should fund these athletic programs through a reduction in annual pay, as an increase in tuition seems extremely unfair.
Jenna Smith TR 8-9:20
ReplyDeleteAlthough Temple does a good job on the break down on all the fees we as students are paying for it still stinks we don’t have a choice to pay them or not. For instance, tech fees, which is pretty much paying to use the computers and printers/etc. on campus, drives me crazy. We only get a print quota—not un limiting printing as advertised when I started here, and also during my hour and a half break on Tuesdays and Thursdays there is no computer to use at the library, tuttleman, or the tech center. So I end up walking all the way back home which is about 8 blocks away to use the computer for my readings for the next class in my day. The activities fees I could live without too because yea we can go to every sport event free but the free transportation sucks and you usually have to take the subway anyway which is not free. In addition if our football would ever go real big we would be just like Penn State kids where they pay activity fees and football tickets on top of that. Also I am more worried about my academics to go to every activity. It is a perk though having the opportunity to attend all games free, but in reality I rather pay for what I want than a bundle of what I don’t.
Richard Ehmer MWF 2-2:50
ReplyDeleteIf this athletics bill was not bundled in and only athletes had to pay for it many students would not do athletics, unless they had a large scholarship because they would have to pay a lot more. I am on the rowing team here and I know if my parents had to pay a lot more for me to row here they would say that I couldn’t join the crew team. Not every athlete is on scholarship. I also enjoy the fact that we can go enjoy sporting events for free but, schools should have a section in the bill that says this.
After reading this article I looked up what my "university fee" was. I found that it is just under $300. This makes me wonder how much of my 300 extra dollars paid to Temple goes to athletics. I will look into this further just out of curiosity. However, going back to the actual cost of NCAA athletics, from my perspective the biggest expense for athletics is the scholarships given to athletes. In 3 years at Temple I have never met a Temple athlete that wasn’t on a full or partial scholarship. Along with going to school for free, some teams get free housing, meals, and a state of the art gym with no additional fees. Of course there are the obvious expenses; equipment, uniforms, venues, coaches etc. I understand that athletics is a huge part of higher education. When teams win championships, the school gains a lot of money from advertisers to government grants not to mention ticket sales. Personally I don’t mind paying a small amount of money to university athletics. I am sure that my $300 University fee is dispersed to areas outside of athletics. With this, I think Temples management of athletic funding and its source is well organized. I am interested to see a specific breakdown of where my money is going. Also, I understand the college is a business but it would be a unique perk for the school to offer options to pay certain fees. For example not paying the athletic fee, students would have to pay full price for tickets, if a student isn't interested in using the gym facilities they would eliminate the campus recreation fee from their bill and the same with tech fees and so on.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly wrongful for the universities to make students pay for the athletics fee when they are not using the athletic facilities. Many students do not play sports and would rather concentrate on studies and so it wont be fair to them to charge athletic fee. I am a commuter and I don’t use any athletic facilities of Temple, but still have to pay for the athletics fee also known as “University Fee.” There are students who have hard time paying for tuition and books itself even after the financial aid, therefore $200+ a semester would cost expensive. It is not easy to pay about $200 a semester for the mandatory athletics fees; it would take about 35 hours to earn money equivalent to $200. Hence, it is wrongful to make someone work and make them pay for the fees which they shouldn’t have to and if they’re not going to use the facilities.
ReplyDeleteMuktak Tripathi
MWF, 2:00 P.M
Kimberly Boyd MWF 2:00-2:50
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting article to me, personally, because I do enjoy sports events, even if I don't always attend them. I think that it's important for the schools athletic department to receive funding, and that students being able to go to home games for free, does partially make up for this. However, I do not think that it's right for the school to have an athletic fee, and not notify the payees what that fee is for. One should never not know what they are paying for, especially when it is hidden from them in plain site. However, this seems to be the case in many schools. I think that the athletic department has a right to charge students that are going to the school a reasonable amount of money (how they determine what is reasonable, I'm not sure) but that they should inform the students what they are paying for. I think it wouldn't be as much of a controversy if it didn't seem like the schools were hiding the fees from their students.
I was really surprised to learn that a portion of my student tuition goes toward Temple’s athletic department. I agree with the woman in the article by the name of Randall who said that she wouldn’t have as much of a problem with it had she known in the first place. It is my own fault for not looking into where my money is going to, but I’m sure the university purposely does not clearly list that information. I just assumed that my “University Fee” was funding something that directly benefits all students, such as student health services or library/computer fees, but athletic fees had never crossed my mind. Depending on the percentage of money allocated to the intercollegiate athletic department from each student’s University Fee, I think it could definitely make Temple look bad to some people in terms of priorities. Just last week I responded to a post about how proud I was to be a student at Temple because they were using money toward expanding for academic purposes and now I read this. On the other hand, I understand that sports events are an important vehicle for revenue for a university, I just don’t fully agree that it should be at the expense of every attending student. In the past few years that I’ve attended Temple I think our sports teams have done great things in terms of gaining a fan-base, particularly football. More games are televised and the amount of people attending games (and therefore buying tickets) has also increased. There is a stronger demand for seating at games. Also, Temple does offer free admission to all home games, which is a decent attempt at repayment. I personally do not attend more than probably 1 game per year for all sports combined, which leaves me at a disadvantage, but I am not too upset or angry about it when I think about the whole economic perspective.
ReplyDeleteVirginia Laskowski
ReplyDeleteTues/Thus 8-9:20
I think that this article really speaks to us as Temple students. Since we are also a Division I school, it kind of relates to us personally. I think that in a way it is fair that we have fees to fund various athletic events. A lot of students at Temple participate in football games and the student tailgate that the school generously provides. This is also only for football season. Sports are offered in both semesters and it is seen as a way to meet new people and a social outlet for many students. I think the athletics at a division one school are just as much a part of the school as other events hosted by campus. However, it is a little discouraging that under our tuition bill it just says "university wide fees" that are mandatory to pay for us. This was a very interesting article that all students should read.
Call me Ms. No School Spirit but I also agree with those who think that paying for fees that we do not necessarily use is ABSOLUTLY RIDICULOUS. Why should I financially sponsor something that I rarely take part in. I can count on my hands the number of sports events I have attended here at Temple University. I shouldn't have to pay for activities that I do not wish to engage in. These could also go for recreation fees as well. If you know that you are going to be an active member of the gym then pay the fee but if not .. why charge those who never will step foot in the IBC?
ReplyDeleteTaisje Claiborne
I have no problem with a fee towards athletics being bundled into tuition, which i assume is called the "university fee"...as long as there is full disclosure. Full disclosure in this sort of situation is key for success of any sort of measurement like this. According to the article, an overwhelming number of students were fine with extra fees being added to their bills, as long as they knew ahead of time that they were going towards athletic teams, scholarships funds and new facilities. With that being said, I don't believe it would be fair to the athletes if students were given a choice to supply funding to the athletic department. Imagine if this opportunity was in effect in the '90s. I could probably safely assume not too many students would opt to pay for a football team that hasn't had a winning season in over a decade. The lack of funding would only add to the stagnation of the team, probably making the drought longer. If my math is right, the "university fee" contributes well over 4 million to the university athletic department every semester, a huge (and guaranteed) piece of funding that is essential for any collegiate athletic program to run.
ReplyDelete-Eugene Tsvilik M/W/F 2-2:50
From briefly reading the article and multiple comments on this post, I can see how paying these fees are a pain for many financially. It seems as though the financial industry tends to subliminal hide charges and fees, also giving these charges and fees confusing terminology. These kinds of situations should be limited and regulated. I also believe that students should have a choice in deciding which activity fees they should pay for. However, I do not believe that collegiate athletic programs are unimportant. I also promote University's using their finances for their sport teams. I promote this because successful University sports gives recognition to your college. Hence, collegiate sports is a form of marketing for the college. Furthermore, that marketing and recognition is beneficial towards students at that University. Consequentially, from my personal experience, although a small sample size, occupations recognize schools that have successful sport teams. As a graduate from college applying for a job, I would like the University I attended to have large recognition and collegiate sports influence that aspect.
ReplyDelete-Josef Argenio, American Economy Tuesday Thursday 8:00am-9:20am. Temple University, Civil Engineering
I have mixed feelings about this topic because I know how much it would affect athletes if these fees were not charged. Unless you have a full ride scholarship for athletics you are paying a lot more and the majority would not do athletics. On the other side I can understand why many feel they are paying for something they should not be required to whether it is lack of interest in sports or you just are not able to attend events. Why pay the extra money when you are not getting anything out of it? Just from typing what I have so far I think that I agree more with universities charging the athletics fee because athletics are a big part of college and unfortunately it is a way to gain recognition for our college. I don't think that universities should be able to put this under any category other than athletics fees on bills and we should be aware of exactly how much we are paying towards athletics. I think the amount we are paying out for athletics could be more easily debated rather then just eliminating the charge all together.
ReplyDeleteJasmin Eales
MWF
After reading this article, I do not agree how my tuition bill partially covers the schools funding for athletics. I understand that the school needs money for this department but 10% of a tuition bill is a lot of money. After 4 years of school, possible more, you are spending thousands of dollars on the schools atheltic department. In addition, most people do not play sports or even attend the games in comparision to the number of students attending the university. The students didn't pay for a good sports team, they paid for a good education to help them obtain a higher standard of living. The article mentioned how the University of Berkeley California used fundraisers to support the school's sports teams instead of charging the student in the tuition bills. I think this is a great idea and many schools should start doing this. It's is hard enough to pay for a tuition bill/room and board, many of us do not need the additional charge for the athletic department.
ReplyDeleteJessica Catanese
AE TR 8:00
This article opened up my eyes yet didn't surprise me at the same time. I often here that my friends on athletic teams don't have to pay for much so i should have known that i was helping them get funding for uniforms, equipment & food to eat while out. I don't think it's fair for students having to pay so much in loans and their more then likely paying for the athletic department to thrive. Before college i was part of an athletic team and we had to fund ourselves. Now that i'm paying so much for my education i really don't see why i should have to pay for the funding of a sport when i never have before. Temple is lucky that the football team is improving, because if they weren't i would be even more upset then i am now. I pay enough for college as a whole, why do i have to support our athletic teams?
ReplyDeleteHattie Cheek
AE TR 8 AM
I disagree with the majority of the people here. I understand it can be a bit upsetting that you pay for some things you don't use,but the fact of the matter is that when you go to college, you typically aren't just going for an education, you are also going for the experience. Schools need to offer a wide array of activities to make thier schools appealing, which brings in more students, which brings in more money, which as a whole benefits the whole University, not just athletics. As a few people have also stated, the athletics program needs to be well funded because it is what gets the most national exposure for the school. I'm an out of state student who pays a substantial amount of my tuition myself. This being said I understand a university this big wouldn't be able to offer personalized plans for every student, and that as a whole the University fee benefits everyone.
ReplyDelete^ Matthew V. T, TR 8-9:20 ^
ReplyDeleteI also agree that this is kind of ridiculous. Once again we're being forced to pay for something that most of us don't participate in nor are really interested in. I personally am on my own when it comes to paying for college, and knowing that a portion of my money is going towards someone/something else is upsetting. A lot of students that participate in college athletics won't have to pay for tuition or even housing. Meanwhile, other students are struggling with this. I think I pay more than enough already and shouldn't be forced to pay for something else that really doesn't affect me.
ReplyDeleteAlexis Haas, TR 8-9:20
Although from this article it seems a bit ridiculous to charge so much money each year to every students tuition to put towards the Universities sports teams, I can see two different sides to the story. As if college isn't expensive enough it may seem a bit ridiculous to charge what the article states, $1,000 extra a year for a students tuition whether or not they are on a sports team, people need to take into consideration which of their college's sports teams games and rally they enjoy attending. Although I agree that $1,000 is entirely too much to tack onto tuition, I don't totally disagree with charging students a little extra each year. After all, we do get discounted tickets and access to every game of every sports team.
ReplyDeleteRichelle Lencicki
MWF 8-9:30
I don't necessarily see a huge problem with the fact that students are charged a mandatory fee for sports. However, I think it's crazy students and their families are so frequently unaware of where tuition money is going. I also don't like that we have such little say (if any) in what we want to do with our money. I think if you play a sport those individuals should be charged slightly more than students who do not participate in athletics. Or, just charge students to get into the games. Having students who have no or little interest in sports pay for it regardless is unfair when you can actually charge students who do want to get into a game for the ticket. Some tuition should obviously be set aside for sports but an extra $1000 a year can go a long way especially in more productive areas...like providing more classes with adjunct teachers so more students graduate on time.
ReplyDeleteCatherine McClendon
TR 8:00am