Dave Hargis
South Coloradan
A proposal to introduce or restructure course fees for some art classes was introduced at last Thursday’s Associated Students and Faculty Senate (AS&F) meeting. Art Department Chair Margaret Doell gave a short presentation that outlined the nature of the fees and began the process of receiving public input on the proposal.
According to Doell, the proposed fees would offer students an overall savings by allowing the Art Department to purchase bulk supplies that would prevent students from having to buy materials on their own, which often involves higher costs and leftover materials that typically go unused. The new fees would be included in the registration cost of each affected course, allowing them to be covered by most financial aid.
Presenting the fees to AS&F initiates an approval process that includes a period allowing for public response to the proposal, which is followed by a formal recommendation from AS&F to the administration, who would then take the proposal to the College Board of Trustees for final approval.
Dean of Student Affairs Ken Marquez stressed how important it is for campus administration to receive student input on these types of issues and encouraged all interested students to review the proposal’s forthcoming official announcement and submit feedback through AS&F at ascasf@adams.edu, or at Senate’s regular meetings.
The fees vary based on the specific course and the materials required. The new fees affect Art Appreciation, Painting (all levels), Drawing (all levels), Intermediate Photography, and Beginning Digital Photography. The official announcement will detail the specific fees for all the affected courses.
The proposed fee for Art Appreciation may have the most far reaching impact because it concerns a general education course taken by many students each semester. The $25.00 proposed fee would cover all materials used in the lab sessions. Students would save an estimated $25.00 to $35.00 dollars based on the cost of the current lab kit that is offered through the campus book store.
The Art Department hopes to gain approval for the fees as quickly as possible, and is looking to implement them in time for spring registrations.
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