UNR added additional fees to the cost of tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year. On July 24th, a Student Announcement was released stating that students would face a surcharge of $6 per undergraduate credit and $8 per graduate credit. This announcement stated that the credit surcharge would “help our University mitigate the budget reduction” put in place by Governor Sisolak. The University is also referring to this surcharge as the “shared responsibility fee”. 

Students at the University of Nevada, Reno do not share a responsibility to “mitigate the budget reduction” by means of raised tuition or extra fees. The fees that we are petitioning to remove are listed below.

UNR Administration must:

1. Drop the surcharge fees of $6 per undergraduate credit and $8 per graduate credit.

2. Waive all late fees for the Fall 2020 semester and halt course cancellations until October 2nd, the final date to withdraw and receive a 50% refund. 

3. Remove the “general fees” for services, such as the gym and the JCSU fees, that students who will participate in remote-only classes cannot access.

Communication with UNR throughout the pandemic has been confusing and frustrating. The university decided before spring break that we would not return to campus. This left the administration approximately five months to plan for remote instruction in the fall. Since March, students have received unclear and infrequent communication about decisions which would affect us in the fall. 

On April 10th, a student announcement was released which informed us of a budget reduction and a list of potential plans to assign temporary surcharges. We did not receive confirmation of the surcharge until July 24th. The late notice of the surcharge gave students less than a month to prepare before the tuition due date of August 21st. 

In addition to late notice of the surcharge, the university has failed to communicate within its own offices. The Financial Aid Office informed me in an email that the Cashiers Office would not charge late fees in September via email on August 3rd. I received an automated phone call from the Cashiers Office at 1 PM on August 18th stating that course cancellation and late fees of $25 per day would apply to students who do not pay their tuition in full by August 21st. The Financial Aid and Cashiers Offices confirmed on August 19th, two days before the tuition due date, that the late fee and course cancellation situation has changed since August 3rd. The last-minute changes in our situation and the lack of communication between university administration, offices, and students is unacceptable. 

Students do not share a responsibility to make up for the budget cut or to pay for services that we cannot access due to the pandemic. Instead of charging students, the university should reduce its spending in other areas of the budget. UNR community, it is time to hold the university accountable for their decisions. Please sign the petition to demand change.