More than 800 students responded to a survey that asked if they would be willing to pay 50 cents per credit hour to finance sources of renewable energy on campus. Results are in, and more than 80 percent said "Yes."
The poll was conducted through online and paper surveys, which were handed out in Turlington Plaza and the Plaza of the Americas. The surveys were conducted from the beginning of March through the beginning of April.
Last spring, 78 percent of students approved the fee as a referendum on the Student Government elections ballot. However, that referendum did not inform students that the fee would probably not be covered by the Bright Futures Scholarship.
Therefore, UF's Division of Student Affairs and SG helped conduct the latest survey, which found that 82.4 percent are willing to pay the fee even if it is not covered by Bright Futures.
Another purpose behind the latest survey was to find out how students would like to use the money raised by the fee, said Kelly Moosbrugger, treasurer of Gators for Sustainable Campus, which helped conduct the survey.
"It's the students' money," she said. "We'd obviously want to use it the way they'd want."
Based on the answers from the survey, the majority of students want the money to be spent on solar technology and energy efficiency tools, like motion sensor lighting and air conditioning improvements.
In order for the fee to be implemented, it still has to be approved by the UF administration and the Board of Trustees, UF's highest governing body. Then the state Legislature would have to put it into effect.
Out of the responses gathered by the survey, 35 percent had never heard of the proposed fee and 34 percent had heard of it but knew little about it, Moosbrugger said.
"So, it's not like the only people who responded were ones really interested in renewable energy," she said.
Moosbrugger said she hopes to bring the results of the survey before the Board of Trustees by June and that she doesn't think the board will be opposed to approving the fee because it doesn't use Bright Futures money.
The fee could help UF become a leader in renewable energy use in the state of Florida, she said.
Schools around Florida are working to implement their own renewable energy fees. Florida State University and the University of Central Florida placed a referendum question on their student government ballots but have yet to conduct surveys.
Jennifer Levy, a UF sophomore, supports using the fee on sustainability efforts.
"By being energy efficient, UF will save money, so students will save money, too," Levy said. "Maybe that 50 cents per credit will make people more aware."
