Understanding this years Required Student Fee Proposal.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated CAPS was allcoated $1 more than their request. CAPS was allocated $1 more than their Scenario A request, 30 cents less than their Scenario B request.
As students already struggle to pay for tuition, those attending KU are forced to pay an additional tax of over $500 a semester to fund basic infrastructure like mental health counseling and transportation services. KU has the highest student fee in the state, but it is unique in that its Student Senate has oversight over all $24 million dollars generated by the fee. KU management continually attempts to reduce its own costs by offloading services which they ought be providing as part of tuition onto the fee, thereby increasing the cost of attendance. This year students are pushing back.
Last night, the Senate’s Fee Review Committee passed their proposal for allocations. It now needs to be approved by the Student Senate Finance Council and the Student’s Assembly before heading to the Chancellor and Kansas Board of Regents for final review.
Allocations from the Student Fee are broken into 4 categories. First, critical services, including bus maintenance and Watkins Health Services, have funds allocated each year by the fee committee that scale based on the number of students that enroll. Second, non-critical services, like the LIED Center, KU Bands, and Spencer Museum of Art, apply for Block Funding each year with a fixed budget request. For many departments, these funds support everything from staff salaries to events. Third, established student organizations like Mock Trial and the Viola Club apply for Line Funding, which allocates specifically enumerated funds for resources like travel and instruments. Fourth, organizations that need intermittent funding throughout the year can apply for Wednesday Night Fund or Community Development Fund, which allocate any remaining fee dollars, albeit with more restrictions.
For the first time in several years, the Fee Review Committee managed to decrease the student fee. This was in part due to mandatory bond payments on the Recreation Center expiring, but several other significant adjustments to the fee allocation helped make this a reality.
Safe Ride is Back!
Thanks to a year of intense pressure from the student body, including a proposed ballot resolution from College of Liberal Arts and Science Senator Esperança Francisca Monteiro Henson, threatening to force the Committee to reconvene, SafeRide, which was cut last year, has been fully funded to operational levels for the 26-27 school year. Transportation Services also received their full ask for procurement, which includes bus upgrades and new vehicles for Safe Ride.
The University Daily Kansan Was Not Defunded
The Kansan readership fee was eliminated. Regardless of what their reporting might say, this action will not defund the Kansan – unless they act negligently in their applications. The fee committee’s proposal moves the Kansan over to Block Funding alongside other non-critical campus services like the Natural History Museum and University Theater, where they have the potential to receive more than their original ask.
The Kansan had 10 years to prepare for this transition. In 2016, the Kansan sued the University for retaliation after its fee was cut to $1 per student. After the Kansan voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit, the Student Press Law Center reported the following:
The Kansan will receive the $2 per student for the two years following this academic year. After the 2019 fiscal year, the Kansan reported, the paper will no longer request funding from the Student Senate. [An advisor] said their plan is to work with the newspaper’s alumni to set up an endowment fund to support the paper instead.
The promised phase-out never happened. Instead, the Kansan increased their ask to $3.00 per student. Last year, inflation outpaced the maximum allowable fee increase, and the Senate had to fund vital services like SafeRide and CAPS since the administration refused to supplement them. To balance this discrepancy, they attempted to reduce the Kansan readership fee to 75 cents. After lobbying from the paper, they ended up settling on SafeRide cuts and a readership fee of $1.50 per student, with the stipulation that the Kansan revise their editorial staff pay structure. Instead of adjusting to the new fiscal landscape, the Kansan spent all of their reserve funds to continue operating in the same manner as before. The Kansan is not critical to the immediate health and safety of students and has routinely demonstrated they are not willing to steward student funds in a good faith manner, warranting this shift.
Hilltop Day Care funding was returned to the administration
The Hilltop Day Care fee was eliminated. Only 3% of Hilltop’s budget came from the Student Fee, so this cut will not have a substantial impact on the service. Hilltop already eliminated half of their student staff positions this year. Multiple confirmed instances of child abuse were also reported in 2025, and members of the fee committee who work in childcare were unsatisfied with the promised reforms. Despite already receiving funding from the Student Fee, they still charge student families hundreds of dollars a month for services. Senate separately funds grants for students that need assistance covering daycare costs through the Educational Opportunity Fund, which was allocated in full. Hilltop is still eligible to apply for Block Funding in order to extend student discounts. If administrators want to continue recruiting families to KU, instead of demanding additional fees for negligent services, they need to properly fund and oversee this service with tuition dollars.
Student Support and Case Management remains on Block
The administrators advising the Senate attempted to add a fee entity in potential contravention of the Student Senate Constitution. The constitution bars unilateral changes from the advisors, but the committee itself is entitled to propose additional fee recipients. Student Support and Case Management provides federally mandated accommodation and student support services for students with exigent circumstances. They currently receive Block Funding. The hubris of administrators to demand students pay additional money for federally mandated services, reveals an immense lack of respect for everyone who pays tuition at KU. Several members advocated for extending the allocation because of the critical nature of the service, but fortunately, the fee committee recognized this gambit as an attempt to offload otherwise mandated services and refused to allocate them any funds, sending the department back down to Block.
We lost Recycling
The Recycling fee was eliminated. Recycling was the last sustainability initiative remaining at KU since the administratively-funded Center for Sustainability was cut during the pandemic. As a result, recycling at KU has been ineffective for years, with many bins now bearing “landfill” stickers. The Student Senate Sustainability Advisory Board warned that this cut would entirely eliminate the service.
This cut to sustainability is disappointing because nobody else on campus has shown a willingness to pick up the bill. Nevertheless, services like recycling do not belong as an additional fee item for students. Stewarding the future of the campus is core to the mission of the university, and it should be funded by the core of the university. The administration has stepped up to the plate in the past, and they should be taking on the burden now. Sustainability initiatives must be both sustainable and accessible. Passing costs onto students is neither.
Senate has promised to advocate for other entities on campus to take on the lost capacity, especially by expanding partnerships with the City of Lawrence. Students also plan on pushing for a general sustainability fund, which can be more specifically allocated by the Student Senate Sustainability Advisory Board. Whether this fund will come to fruition remains to be seen.
Counseling Services received an increase
The Community Support Services Fee allocates funds to non-KU entities that provide student wellness services. Bert Nash, which provides community health and behavioral services, and the Willow Domestic Violence Shelter received their full asks. Two community services were not funded, namely the suicide and crisis council service Headquarters, who did not show up to present their budget request, and the Sexual Trauma and Abuse Care Center (STACC), who did not provide a specific ask during their presentation. The fee committee wanted to ensure student funds were only being distributed to organizations that showed a willingness to be transparent with the Student Senate. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) was allocated a dollar more than their Scenario A request, which will set them up to better respond to increased student demands. They have routinely shown themselves to be good stewards of their allocations, working with campus departments to get matching funds for embedded clinicians to reduce the fee burden on students.
Student Unions were sent a message
The Student Union Operating Fund took significant cuts. They were given additional funds last year to support the current renovations and failed to reduce their request back down. The Student Unions, contrary to what their name might imply, are no longer used primarily by Students. Despite making up a fifth of the student fee, only 27% of room reservations went to student organizations last year. Student Union management is also in violation of a memorandum of understanding stating students should make up at least 50% of all boards and committees governing union operations.
Looking Forward
Student Senate’s own operating budget also received cuts, since they were able to finish paying off their $170,000 deficit. This further reduces the amount students have to pay on top of tuition each semester. Every other fee entity was allocated their full request with no adjustments.
KU still has a long way to go before students are no longer required to pay additional student fees to receive the services that should be covered by their tuition. Even if the Student Fee were entirely eliminated, textbooks, course fees, and tech fees still continue to plague our bills every semester. A truly equitable future will require administrators to take real responsibility for student success, instead of operating as tight a budget as possible and offloading every cost possible while giving themselves double-digit percent raises. This proposed fee package is, however, an important step towards that future.
CLARIFICATION: Portions of this article were updated to reflect the diveresity of views held by committee members regarding the proposed addition of Student Support and Case Mangement to fee review.
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