Beginning this semester any student taking an engineering course must pay an additional $32 per credit. The fee, applied to both Engineering School students and others taking engineering courses, will cover costs in the laboratory. Though we understand the need to raise funds for lab resources the fee could have been better implemented.
The fee mirrors similar initiatives adopted at other schools of engineering, including several in the state of Virginia. With state funds on the wane, public institutions all share a need for lab resources. To solve this, various schools have taken different measures to raise money. A comparison of their methods shows that the University could have chosen a more appropriate template.
The University’s plan to charge $32 dollars per credit resembles the $30 per credit fee adopted at Virginia Tech. Its college of engineering, however, phased in the transition to ensure the process was more equitable. At the University, upperclassmen have complained for having to pay the fee even though many have finished their labs. And phasing in the fee would have allowed existing students to pay under their original agreement of their costs for tuition.
Old Dominion University and George Mason University tailor lab fees per individual course, according to the Engineering School website. This user-fee approach most adequately captures the varying use of laboratory resources across different classes. The University will charge not based on the class, but per credit hour — yet hours spent in an engineering course are not always a very good indicator of how much equipment will be used or cost. Plus, the type of technology involved should count as much as the additional hour spent with a tool.
The University’s fee is necessary and appropriate but it could have adopted a model similar to those at other schools to ensure it would raise revenue more fairly.
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