Approval of Previous Minutes —

Feb. 7 and Nov. 22 minutes. The minutes were approved by acclamation.

Guest Speaker Presentation —

Guest Speaker: Eron Memaj, Regina Sherrill (ISS)

Sunita Gandhi welcomed Dr. Eron Memaj and Regina Sherrill of International Support Services (ISS).

Dr. Memaj said that he and Regina Sherill reviewed the fees that ISS charges international students for services they provided. They looked at the different fees. They compared fees with peer institutions. They have a few increases that are small, but necessary.

Dr. Memaj shared his screen and displayed the document “Change to Current Fees/Rates”

The current application fee is $85. The proposed fee is $90. The fees range is between $65 and $100

A major fee that we have is the international student fee. It is used to cover operating expenses, including the immigration database, needed to help ISS, students, and the institution stay in compliance. This fee ISS is proposing to increase from $170 to $187. An explanation was given. This increase is needed to cover the mid-year salaries that were given. We are in the middle to low end of the range from $75 to $426.

Another fee is the Orientation fee which is currently $240. It is a one-time cost when students arrive here. It provides food, transportation, and reservations at Union, etc. This is critical. The proposed fee is $264, which is lower than peers. ISS has a staff member who organizes the orientation, and their salary comes from the fees. With the 5% salary increase, it is necessary to increase this fee. We are still lower than many peers.

Sponsored student fee is currently $275 with a proposed increase to $285. ISS has two staff members who serve the sponsored international student population. To help with the 5% salary increase, fees need to increase. ISS is on lower end with peers, and this was last adjusted in 2108.

Airport transportation fee is $65, and the proposed increased fee is $100. Students opt to use the service. The office has been able to subsidize this fee. ISS has been filling in the shortfall gap. Actual transportation is about $120, so the office will still subsidize some of the costs.

ISS has other fees, but they are not proposing increases for those.

Dr. Memaj opened the discussion for questions.

Julius provided an observation. He suggested as the office puts the message forward that the message “it’s only a small fee” that to some, it is not “small.” These could be significant. The message should focus on what the increase is for and the importance of the service.

Dr. Memaj appreciated the observation and feedback.

Charles Bankart said in an earlier administration we the provided the CFO and Provost with options of how to support the services provided by ISSS that are essential to international students and their success. There was a dramatic proposal to double the international student fee at the time. This was a time of pain and anxiety for international community. Since then, the Provost and CFO have invested significantly in ISS. These were major investments: funding a director and an associate director for the office. He said it was achievable by advocacy by people like Hollie, advisory group, and conversations. The adjustments of fees proposed here are not of the nature they were in years past. There has been much investment. This is the historical context. Eron and Regina work hard to keep costs for ISS down.

Q.  Is orientation fee mandatory?

A.  Yes, orientation is mandatory. They prepare for the school year, and life in US and Lawrence.

Q.  Can you opt out of anything to make it cheaper?

Q What is the total amount of the fee that a typical student pays?

A.  Dr. Memaj said the total amount of fees varies. Some fees are continuous, such as the $187. Application fee is a one-time fee.

Comment. Regina said the fee that all the students pay is ISS fee, which all pay each semester they are enrolled. Students pay $187 each semester, and $85 for summer, if enrolled.

Charlie commented on an earlier comment about orientation. If a student cannot attend orientation, they are not charged. If they have travel problems, arrive late, etc. they might miss orientation. Immigration check in is part of the process, and it is mandatory. This is a special charge for individual late arrivers. There are economies of scales achieved because we can arrange a bus that goes to a series of destinations. It is a well-used service. ISS is one of the nationally recognized orientation programs. KU tries to provide a full experience with orientation allowing students to fully acclimate. It is an important foundation that has a cost to it.

Q.  Is airport transportation an option?

A.  Yes, it is optional.

Q.  Regarding orientation fee, is it new? Are we having trouble getting more support? Students will be curious to what improved services we will have.

A.  We do continuous improvement, trying to provide a better service. We hire orientation leaders (students) who we pay. If students have any issues, we are happy to address it.

Q.  In my experience, there were only two fees: international fee and orientation fee. Are there new fees?

A.  Those fees were added a few years ago, 2020-2021. Optional training and Academic training. It is necessary because of post-graduation maintenance and advising. There is additional paperwork for ISS for students with these statuses. Charlie said these fees are listed in the comprehensive fees schedule on the registrar’s site.

Q.  Are there new events we are hosting? Are we giving the same service for orientation, and they are having to pay more?

A.  We are constantly improving. The increase fees are in part due to the KBOR mandated increase in salaries. There is inflation and the costs have increased. We want to provide more. We get student feedback, and we listen and try to enhance services.

Q.  Is there something showing the increases each year, over the last ten years, alongside the increase in tuition? The percentage of increase would help.

A.  Some of the fees have not increased from the previous years. Eron does not have the statistics on the percentage increase in tuition. Eron can look into this.

Comment. Charlie asked that Sunita send the document that was shared and before all members were on the call. 2019 was the last year tuition was increased. This was held constant because of the pandemic. The inflationary pressures have resulted in proposals for housing and dining because their costs have gone up significantly. The biggest cost for orientation is meals. There are more costs with people being here before classes start. What we receive from the state is unknown right now, so the tuition increase is not known.

Comment. There were protest at Julliard with an increase in fees. International students pay way more than domestic students, almost double. We want to cultivate a friendly atmosphere for international students.

Q.  My understanding is that we are looking at an increase of $91. Are there different options, can we stagger the increase over many years or, is it immediate because of inflation? We have held the cost of tuition for several years; can we hold the fees for international students?

A.  We keep the structure flat, just as KU has kept a flat structure. Most of the cost are the result of increasing cost to provide the service. If we staggered it, we are constantly behind. We have to implement a structure that makes up for the three years we did not raise fees.  Eron and Regina thought carefully about the increase of fees to the students. We have an investment of institutional funding, and without it, would have had to double the increase.

Q.  Is this proposal of fee increases going to be shared beyond this committee?

A.  This committee, and its charges, is specifically tasked to review that ISS fees are aligned with the service. This fee structure does not go through any other body. This is the body that is responsible for this.

Sunita thanked Charlie, Dr. Memaj and Regina for joining the meeting. The group approved sending the recording to Hara and Hollie.

Unfinished Business —

Survey to international students. Sunita thanked the subcommittee who worked on this survey, Hollie, Hara, and Patricia. Sunita contacted AIRE. She confirmed that AIRE should check the survey content and technical aspects. We will know soon. The committee figured out a back button. The pdf was checked. The group will check the questions. The survey takes about 15 minutes, as we timed.

Next, Sunita discussed the charges. Sunita shared the charges and asked for suggestions on what the group needs to do next. The survey and approval of the fees are both finished. The survey will be sent by ISS. Sunita will send to the deans’ offices so they can share with students. We need to discuss #1 with Charlie next time about the report. Charlie was also part of the Strategic Plan, so he can update next time.

Dr. Eron sent the proposed fee structure. Sunita will send it to the committee to check again and provide feedback.