Every semester, full-time students see fees on their U-Bill, but where do those fees go? The Activity and Service Fee, a $421.45 charge each semester, funds various campus services for students.
According to the Iowa State website, students are divided into three groups for fee assessment: On-Campus, Temporarily Off-Campus and Distance Education Program.
On-campus mostly applies to undergraduate and graduate students who attend classes on campus, while Distance Education Program refers to fully online students. Temporarily Off-Campus refers to students who might be in an internship, co-op, student teaching opportunity or studying abroad.
This mandatory fee is one of the largest fees listed on a student’s semester bill after tuition or potential housing and dining costs. Officially named the Activity, Services, Building and Recreation Fee, the gathered funds are allocated to four areas. Distance Education Program students are not required to pay this fee but may elect to request the fee be added to their U-Bill.
“Through mandatory fees, students receive access to Thielen Student Health Center, Recreation Services, the Memorial Union, CyRide, athletic events and more,” Rachel Boenigk, director of administrative services, said. “Mandatory fees also support IT services on campus including classroom technology and software access. Student Government is also funded through mandatory fees. These services are integral to the student experience at ISU and contribute positively to student retention and graduation rates.”
According to the Office of the Registrar, Student Government receives $49 from every Activity, Service, Building and Recreation Fee. The total amount collected is budgeted to include many different campus activities. This portion of the fee is charged to On-Campus and Temporarily Off-Campus groups of students, regardless of use.
The next category of the fee is services. Iowa State supports the following services with $142.10 from the fee: student admission rates for concerts and athletic events and CyRide use. Only On-Campus students have this assessed to their bill. The student services fee category is also charged regardless of use.
The third category of the fee is listed as $51.05 named “Building”. These funds support facilities such as the Memorial Union and other buildings used for recreation. This fee category is assessed to both On-Campus and Temporarily Off-Campus students, regardless of use or the student’s location relative to campus. The Health Facility Fee is charged separately.
The final category is a $179.30 fee – used directly for recreation. This is meant to be allocated to the use of recreation facilities on campus such as Lied Recreation Center or State Gym. Students who fit the Temporarily Off-Campus requirements are charged $62.76, and Distance Education Program students are not charged. Similar to other categories of the Activity, Services, Building and Recreation fee is not evaluated by the use of these recreation facilities.
According to Boenigk, there is a core group that helps determine the amounts and applications.
“The Special Student Fee Committee is a group of students and Iowa State employees who consider any student activity changes and make recommendations to university administration,” Boenigk said. “State law (Iowa Code 262.34B) provides more information about how the fees are reviewed and recommendations are brought forward.”
“All of the areas that receive fees create sustainable business plans which limit the impact to students while also prioritizing student needs and strategic reinvestment in programs and facilities,” Boenigk said.
According to Evan Martinez, Student Government finance director, there are many services and groups that students could interact with throughout the year.
Funds from the fee also support various large-scale campus activities. Yearly budgets are published on the Student Government online portal. Previous reporting from the Daily, breaks down how funds were allocated in 2022.
“Internally we always stress that Student Government is only here to provide oversight of student dollars, ultimately these funds belong to students. We make it a priority to ensure every project that wants to be pursued by Stu Orgs is assisted with the funds Student Government collects,” Martinez said.
“Roughly half of the Student Fee revenue is allocated to Student Organizations through the Annual Allocation process. Stu Orgs also have the opportunity to submit individual funding requests (requests that were not on their original budget) throughout the year – so this percentage can vary,” Martinez said. “At the very least, 50% of the funds go straight to student organizations.”
In this way, funds collected go almost directly back to the students. Through Student Government, student organizations can easily apply for funding for general purposes, events, conferences and competitions.
The application and more information can be found here. The Finance Committee and Student Government facilitate this process and organizations should abide by the Student Government Priorities and Criteria.
Additional funds are allocated to contracts held by Student Government, which continue through the 2026 fiscal year or longer. Included is the following: Committee on Lectures, the Iowa State Daily, Student Legal Services, Student Counseling Services and Students Helping Our Peers (SHOP) food pantry.
For more information about allocations to date, visit the Student Government website.
