The Portland State Board of Trustees (BOT) approved changes to Spring 2020 student fees with a unanimous vote at its April 9 meeting. In response to the coronavirus, the fees will either be refunded or reduced to adjust to the changes in services available to students, as well as to limit the financial burden students face against a pandemic.
The changes, originally proposed by PSU, with recommendations from the Student Fee Committee, include eliminating the student building and recreational center fees, as well as reducing the student incidental fee by $20. In total, it’s a $101 reduction on students’ bills. Other fees, especially for services still in operation, remain the same.
The BOT also officially decided to postpone the proposed changes to tuition in the 2020–21 academic year, due to “uncertainty about COVID-19’s effect on university operations, student enrollment and the budget beyond the spring term,” according to an announcement posted on April 10.
Tuition prices for the Spring 2020 term remained untouched—a point of contention for many students.
Now that the changes have been approved, students will see them as a credit applied to their spring term bill, once processed by Student Financial Services. If students have already paid their bill in full, the amount will be refunded to them. For students who missed the first payment, which was due on April 6, no late fee will be charged.
