Raising prices mid-semester
On 9/12 we received this note: The grad fee was updated to $100 this morning. Students that started their applications prior to this change will still pay the $75, but others going forward will see the new fee. We are expecting some pushback from students and Ed has given the graduation team some talking points to help answer basic questions, but escalations will be sent to the Ceremonies Office, as needed (which I hope are few and far between). Best, Scott Thorpe Associate Registrar Are we that desperate for money we couldn't have waited till the deadline to graduate was Oct. 1? This is terribly rude to change the price for our graduating students in the middle of a semester and have some students pay a lesser price. Why make things more difficult for people?
Resolution/Notes
Regarding the fee - Grad fees were raised in spring of last year after not having changed for more than 14 years. As you can surmise, with the cost of everything rising, the grad fee needed to be updated. The decision was to raise the fee once more to $100. The late application fee and the additional degree fee did not change.
The decision on the increase and the timing was made at the senior admin level.
Please note, that while the graduation fee cannot be waived (it pays for consumable items like diplomas, diploma cases, honor cords, etc), the late fee can be waived and I do this often. If a student cannot raise the fee in time and needs to hold off on applying, the request to waive the late fee can be directed to me or to the Graduation Section of the University Registrar’s Office.
~Melissa Goitia