Ryerson introduces money processing fee in 2008

Posted on 03/11/08
Written by Chris Battaglia

(The Eyeopener) -

By the Fall 2008 term, Ryerson students will fi nd yet another fee added to their tuition bill.

The Money Processing fee, announced yesterday, will be used to cover the costs Ryerson incurs handling the boatloads of money they already get in tuition and other fees.

"This is a necessary fee," said Ryerson Fees and Services spokeswoman Kathy Greenhart, "I cannot overstate the necessity of this fee. We need this money."

Student fees used to be a minor part of overall tuition expenses, but over the years, more and more services and organizations have added their mouths to the tuition teat. The current list of student fees is long and detailed, including an RAC membership fee, a fee for the RSU's health plan, and a mandatory donation of $50 to Ted Rogers, known as the Ted Rogers Is Awesome fee.

Everything on the fee list gets a certain amount of money from each student, and the process of properly distributing the money has become exceedingly complicated. According to Greenhart, that's where the Money Processing fee comes in.

"In recent years, we've been using Ryerson accounting students to sort through the paperwork. We passed it off as an assignment," explained Greenhart, "but the situation's grown beyond their grasp. It is our hope that the Money Processing fee will cover this."

Student groups are already up in arms over the idea of adding another fee. Philip Wozniak, a student activist and president of Students for a Halt in Increased Tuition (SHIT), sees this as another cash-grab by a school already too bloated with ancillary expenses. "It's simply unfair to take so much money from students and then ask them to pay again to process it," Wozniak said while standing outside of his SHIT offi ce.

Wozniak admits that SHIT has its own mandatory fee: the SHIT fee, but he stresses that the money SHIT receives serves an important purpose. "SHIT doesn't just fl ush that money down the toilet," said Wozniak. "We fi ght on behalf of the entire student body, and that costs money ... SHIT costs money."

Greenhart said that Ryerson understands the concerns of student groups like SHIT, but she explained that the addition of this fee was unavoidable. "I wish we could go back to the days where the tuition money was kept in garbage bags underneath Sheldon Levy's bed, but sadly, those days are long gone," she said.

Greenhart was also quick to point out that the new Money Processing fee will give students the opportunity to opt out if they do not wish to pay it. "The opt-out process is quite simple," she said, "all you have to do is fi nd the highest prime room number in Kerr Hall East, and bring fi ve pieces of government-issued photo identifi cation to that room within two hours of the start of each term. See? Simple."

View more stories by Chris Battaglia.