[CAUT] Student fees

[Fred Sturm]

--On Monday, December 13, 2004 5:47 PM -0500 Wimblees@aol.com wrote:
>
>
> Here at Alabama, we charge applied majors $125 per semester. But there is
> one major problem. No one seems to know where the money goes. Our
> Administrative Assistant, several chairs of our department, and I think
> even an Assistant Dean, have tried to trace the money, but from the
> information we have been able to gather, it disappears into a black hole.
>
> I have recommended to the new chair we put in a "stop payment" order on
> that account, and start a new one, but only if we are guaranteed that the
> money comes back to  the department.
>
> Wim
> Willem Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> School of Music
> University of Alabama
> Tuscaloosa, AL USA

	I'll second Wim's caution, here. Our department instituted a similar 
"applied music fee" for all private lessons some 15 years ago. Maybe it was 
longer, and 15 years ago they raised it substantially. What I do remember 
from that time is that the students complained bitterly, and the chair 
promised to use a large portion of the money for piano improvements. Or I 
should say that five years later I heard from the student ringleader that 
the then chair had made that promise. My budget was not increased one red 
cent (I was contract at the time). That chair was not, shall we say, 
someone whose word you could take to the bank.
	But, of course, what Alan is proposing, he is intimately involved in from 
the get go, so there is no reason to assume the worst. Just try to make 
sure the folks in central accounting know precisely what this money is for. 
The more people in upper administration are in on the planning, the better.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico