The Government of the Student Body will again consider an increase in student fees this week.

A bill to be presented to GSB this week will ask for a $1.50 fee increase per semester per student, which will add about $40,500 to GSB’s budget. The money would be earmarked for the GSB-funded ISU Financial Counseling Clinic, which bill supporters said has been plagued with a lack of funding and manpower over the last three years.

“Right now, they don’t really get that much funding, and mostly they work on a volunteer basis,” said Henry Alliger, GSB off-campus senator. “Adding funding would help to get someone to work there on a regular basis, either full-time or part-time.”

The Financial Counseling Clinic is an Iowa State-owned enterprise that acts as a financial advising center to students and non-students. The clinic is currently allocated about $23,000.

Mark Oleson, the clinic’s director, said increased funding was vital to preserving the services the clinic offers students.

“If our funding doesn’t increase, we wouldn’t be able to continue offering any financial planning services to students, just counseling,” said Oleson, assistant professor of human development and family studies. “And we’d probably have to recruit a graduate student and try and train him to act as a counselor. We’d have to cut back the number of students we work with to about 100 or so.”

While the role the clinic has played for students has increased dramatically in the past five years, Oleson said, funding has not kept up with student demand.

Last year, Oleson said, the clinic worked with approximately 1,500 students.

He said the additional money would go toward increasing the paid time of the clinic’s existing counselor to at least half-time. The remaining funds would be used to hire an hourly counselor to help relieve the swelling workload.

Jacob Larson, GSB off-campus senator and author of the bill, said the past three years have been hectic ones for the clinic, given double-digit tuition increases. GSB hasn’t been unable to increase funding for the organization.

Now, he said, it is worth asking more from students to preserve the clinic’s services.

“For me, financial counseling is the most important thing for students going to school,” he said. “I understand that students will be a little hesitant about paying more money each year. But unless the increase is [approved] and more funding given to them, the clinic’s quality will diminish and students may end up having to pay for using it.”

Alliger said asking students to pay more during tight financial periods might cause a backlash among GSB constituents.

“Any time you raise student fees, it’s an issue,” he said. “But personally, I think it’s justified.”

Oleson said some changes had already occurred within the clinic to secure funding. On Jan. 20, the clinic announced in an e-mail it would add a $15 charge for all graduate students using their services.

“It’s been three weeks since we sent out that e-mail, and we have not seen one graduate student,” he said. “They call and say they don’t want to sign up for an appointment, because they don’t want to have to pay for it.”

GSB is expected to vote on the increase next week. Wednesday, GSB is also scheduled to discuss a resolution supporting civil liberties and a bill that would decrease compensation paid to GSB vice presidents.

A correction to this article was printed on Feb. 13, 2004

Due to a reporting error, the Feb. 11 article “Fees may increase to help financial clinic” incorrectly identified Henry Alliger as a GSB off-campus senator. Alliger is the College of Agriculture GSB senator. The Daily regrets this error.