E-mail Notice
May 13, 2005
Student Health Center Fee
Dear Humboldt State University Students:
I was recently asked by the Student Fee Advisory Council (SFAC) to make a
decision on their recent recommendations on fee increases for you. I write
to inform you of my decisions and to provide you with the rationales. I
very much appreciate the involvement of our students in the governance of
the University and believe that the history of HSU demonstrates that
students take these responsibilities seriously, and that their ideas have
contributed importantly to the development of the University. I am
especially grateful to those of you who took time to educate yourselves
about the issues under consideration and to vote in the referendum.
First, I remind you of your recommendations and those of the SFAC.
Do you approve increasing the Associated Students fee $15 per semester
effective Fall 2005? Students voted as follows:
YES 490
NO 313
The Student Fee Advisory Committee unanimously recommended approval of
this fee increase.
Do you favor increasing the Health Center fee $44 per semester effective
Fall 2005 with an annual adjustment according to the Higher Education
Price Index starting Fall 2006? Students voted as follows:
YES 361
NO 427
After considerable deliberation and discussion regarding the outcome of
the fee increase, the Student Fee Advisory Committee did not recommend
approval of this increase. SFAC recognized the importance of solid health
services on the HSU campus, but felt they must uphold the outcome of the
referendum. They also argued that the entire cost of the Health Center
should not be supported by student fee money only. It is important to note
that the advisory vote by SFAC was not unanimous. Four members voted to
deny the increase and three members voted in favor of it.
I have made the following decisions that will be implemented for the Fall
semester of 2005.
Associated Student Fee
I have no doubt that the Associated Students organization serves the needs
of our students well and generally uses the fees they collect for the
benefit of most students. Thus after consideration of the student
referendum, the SFAC recommendation and other advice, I approve this
recommendation effective for fall semester 2005.
Student Health Center Fee
Most people value access to affordable, high quality health care. It is
particularly important for our students many of whom find themselves far
from their homes and regular health care providers. Thus, I do not accept
the recommendations of the SFAC or the student referendum regarding the
proposed health fee increase. I do accept the proposal that we increase
the Student Health Center fee by $44 per semester effective for the fall
semester 2005 with an annual adjustment according to the Higher Education
Price Index starting for the fall semester 2006.
I take the recommendations of student groups and referenda very seriously
and do not make this decision easily. I explain below my reasoning for the
decision to approve this fee increase that was rejected by a relatively
small margin of students in the referendum.
The Student Health Center services at HSU are consistently highly used and
rated by students. In fact, over 5,000 students annually use the Student
Health Center; HSU has the highest per capita use rate of CSU campuses.
Additionally, this semester, in a benchmarking customer survey conducted
by CSU health centers, HSU had the highest satisfaction ratings among the
participating campuses. Our remote rural area and lack of community health
services, along with the absence of local HMOs, account for much of the
heavy student demand for on-campus health services.
Without the increase in the Student Health Center fee, services to
students would be reduced drastically, and many students would suffer ˆ
physically, emotionally and fiscally. Such a reduction would have resulted
in many students not receiving necessary, timely and low cost medical
services. They would be more dependent on expensive hospital, urgent care
and off campus outpatient services; there would be an increase in student
illness resulting in academic failure; students would not be able to be
immunized on-campus and therefore, would not be able register for classes;
and, students with serious illness seeking specialty care would be forced
to wait for referrals or delay accessing care based on long waits.
In a recent week, a few students came to the Health Center and were
diagnosed as having new cancers. A delay in service for situations like
these can be catastrophic. The optional student health insurance plan is
dependent on initial referral from a Student Health Center provider.
Therefore, limiting access to the Student Health Center would also limit
access to insured services. Every year there are examples of students who
are identified by Student Health Center medical providers who have serious
medical conditions such as cancers or infections where early treatment is
very important and even life saving.
Nationally, health care costs and health care insurance costs have
increased at a staggering rate. The Student Health Center has not had a
rate increase in over seven years while costs have increased at a rate of
approximately 5.5% per year. If the Student Health Center fee had been
adjusted for inflationary increases over this seven-year period, a fee
initiative to increase the student fee would not have been necessary. Even
with the proposed fee increase, the annual cost to a student for unlimited
access to the Student Health Center is low when compared to a single visit
to a clinic, physician or hospital emergency room. The increase in the
Student Health Center fee will become part of the students‚ budget for
financial aid awards, and for our most financially needy students, the fee
increase will be funded by grants.
I summarize next the recent history of the Health Center fee and indexing.
In 1995, there was a student referendum, the President and Chancellor
approved an increase in the HSU Student Health Center fee, setting the fee
at 80% of the total operational cost of the Health Center. The approval
was for a proportion of the operational cost, not a dollar amount; and,
the language indicates that the dollar amount of the fee was to be
increased annually in order to maintain the 80% rate. Thus, the campus has
already approved indexing or inflation-proofing the Student Health Center
fee. Again, if the Student Health Center fee had kept pace with inflation,
as approved in the 1995, we would not be considering the large increase
that we are considering today.
Earlier this year the Associated Students sent me a resolution supporting
the addition of an alcohol/drug intervention coordinator position. The
resolution is for a new position and cannot exist without budget
augmentation to the Student Health Center. Some of our students, like
those on all campuses, are arriving with significant mental health service
needs as well as basic health service needs, which must be addressed in
order to achieve student academic success.
It is because the Student Health Center is such a vital service in
supporting students‚ academic success and because the fee supporting those
services has not increased in over seven years that I must support and
approve the proposed fee increase. The Student Health Center is a very
inexpensive and efficient service used by the majority of students, and
benefiting all students.
I wish you all a most pleasant summer and will look forward to seeing many
of you back on campus this fall.
Sincerely,
Rollin C. Richmond
President