With budget cuts and tuition increases, knowing how things are paid for and who decides where the money goes is becoming increasingly important to Cal Poly students.
The Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Fee makes up a portion of the tuition Cal Poly students pay every quarter. These fees are separated into two categories: those that directly fund ASI and those that directly fund the University Union (UU).
The ASI fees are $96.83 per quarter and are made up of four areas: athletics, ASI programs, the Children’s Center and student community services. UU Fees are $209.01 per quarter and are made up of two sections: UU costs and the sports complex.
Many students don’t know they pay an ASI fee, but it’s important, ASI President-elect and social sciences junior Katie Morrow said.
“Everyone’s a member just by going to Cal Poly,” she said. “So they deserve to know where the money is going and really see that.”
Though the fees may seem confusing, the budget is always available for people to look at, ASI Director of Business Services Dwayne Brummett said.
The following is a breakdown of each individual ASI and UU fee students pay, when the fee began and why and how the money is spent:
Fees
Athletics
An ASI referendum in February 1987 proposed the idea of collecting money for athletic scholarships and the idea was revisited in April 2004. Students pay $44.38 per quarter to ASI, who then passes the money onto the university in the form of athletic scholarships. The athletic scholarships enable Cal Poly to maintain its NCAA Division I status.
ASI Programs
In 1998, the board of directors voted to create a $38.29 fee every quarter to fund ASI-run programs. These programs include Poly Escapes, club services and other ASI events (such as Concerts in the Plaza). Additional revenue helps fund these events with user fees.
Orfalea Family & ASI Children’s Center
Construction began for the Children’s Center in April 1991 after an ASI referendum. Four years later, a referendum passed that created a $12.75 fee each quarter to put towards operating costs. The Children’s Center is open to anyone, with first priority going to Cal Poly teachers and students. User fees and the Orfalea family also fund the program.
Student Community Services
After an ASI referendum in April 1997, a $1.41 per quarter fee was added to tuition. This money is collected by ASI, but then passed onto the university to help fund the Student Community Services Center.
University Union
Each quarter, students pay a $202.01 fee to ASI for the UU. This money helps fund the debt from construction of the Recreation Center, as well as operation and maintenance of the UU facilities, Recreation Center and sports complex. The fee began to fund the construction and operation of the UU. Since its beginning, there have been referenda that have added to the original fee.
Sports Complex
The sports complex, which is located past the baseball and softball fields on campus, opened in 2000.
“The fee was put into place to fund the repayment of bonds used for the construction of the sports complex,” Brummett said.
With the fees from every student each quarter, ASI has many areas to divide the money among. There are seven categories that ASI is in charge of funding, in addition to the areas listed above. The following is a breakdown of each area.
Spending
ASI Programs
As mentioned above, ASI programs include Poly Escapes, club services and ASI events. There is income involved in these programs from user fees, but the student fee funds the majority.
Student Government
Cal Poly clubs, sports clubs and ASI scholarships are both funded through the student government area of ASI spending. The budget is also used for operations related to student outreach and representation goals.
ASI scholarships are given to six student government members: president, chair and vice chair of the University Union Advisory Board (UUAB), board of directors chair and vice chair and the chief of staff.
The scholarships were created so student-government members, who devote a large amount of time to the school, could focus on their duties without needing another job, Brummett said. All of the scholarships go through financial aid, and they are based off of the cost of “student living” as determined by the state of California.
The ASI president receives 100 percent student living, chair and vice chair of UUAB receive 75 percent, board of directors chair and vice chair receives 25 percent and chief of staff receives 50 percent.
Plant Fund
This area of the budget accounts for depreciation of capital assets that aren’t necessarily part of one specific area of ASI. Capital assets are “those that cost $2,500 or more and have a useful life longer than one year,” Brummett said.
An example of this is the ASI marquees, which were recently taken down.
ASI Administration
All full-time employees and student employees are paid through ASI fees and other user fees. Staff costs total approximately $1,917,784.
Without ASI administration, behind the scenes human resources, accounting and planning would not be successful, Morrow said.
“We don’t just take it for granted that the staff is doing their job,” she said. “I think they’re great, but I think it’s our job to make sure that they’re spending it the way that students want it to be spent.”
Cash Administration
This portion funds the post-retirement benefit obligation for employees that retire with ASI. The amount required is more than necessary for Cal Poly, so the organization is working toward lowering the percentage put toward this area by investing in an outside fund, Brummett said.
Orfalea Family & ASI Children’s Center
As mentioned above, students pay $12.75 per quarter to fund operations for the children’s center. The daycare also receives funding from the Orfalea family and user fees.
Council Allocations
This money goes to the board of each college and is used to promote the college to the rest of the university. The Board of Directors wanted to give money to each college, but also wanted to make sure that they can only use it to benefit everyone in the college, Brummett said.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since its publication. We originally reported that seven students receive scholarships from the ASI Fees for student government, it is actually six. We apologize for any inconvenience.