They drain students’ pockets, but many students don’t know what they are. Activity and service fees fund services offered through Student Government, the Reitz Union and RecSports, and they generate millions of dollars. The 2010 to 2011 Activity and Service Fee Budget for UF is almost $16 million, according to Student Government documents obtained by the Alligator.
UF students are paying $12.38 per credit hour in activity and service fees, compared to last year’s fees of $10.65 per credit hour, a result of the Florida Legislature’s decision to lift a cap that prevented tuition and fees from rising more than 5 percent each year.
For 2010 to 2011 only, the Higher Education Conforming Bill allows public universities in Florida to increase their fees up to 15 percent or by the amount needed to reach the state average.
This year’s increased activity and service fees added $1.56 million to the UF Activity and Service Fees budget.
Of these funds, $747,842 will be distributed to the Reitz Union to support additional staff to oversee student groups, and $812,155 will be distributed to RecSports to help pay for the Southwest Recreation Center expansion and for additional staff.
