Guidelines

Background / RCW STFC Guidelines STFC Program Intent

Background / RCW

On March 25, 1996, the Governor of the State of Washington approved the Second Substitute House Bill 2293 (RCW 28B.15.051) enabling technology fees to be established and charged to each enrolled student at institutions of higher education with the written agreement of the respective student government associations and the governing board of each institution, separate from tuition fees.

RCW 28B.15.051:

The governing board of each of the state universities, the regional universities, and The Evergreen State College, upon the written agreement of its respective student government association or its equivalent, may establish and charge each enrolled student a technology fee, separate from tuition fees. During the 1996-97 academic year, any technology fee shall not exceed one hundred twenty dollars for a full-time student. Any technology fee charged to a part-time student shall be calculated as a pro rata share of the fee charged to a full-time student.
Revenue from this fee shall be used exclusively for technology resources for general student use.
Only changes in the amount of the student technology fee agreed upon by both the governing board and its respective student government association or its equivalent shall be used to adjust the amount charged to students. Changes in the amount charged to students, once implemented, become the basis for future changes.
Annually, the student government association or its equivalent may abolish the fee by a majority vote. In the event of such a vote, the student government association or its equivalent shall notify the governing board of the institution. The fee shall cease being collected the term after the student government association or its equivalent voted to eliminate the fee.
The student government association or its equivalent shall approve the annual expenditure plan for the fee revenue.
The universities and The Evergreen State College shall deposit three and one-half percent of revenues from the technology fee into the institutional financial aid fund under RCW28B.15.820.
As used in this section, "technology fee" is a fee charged to students to recover, in whole or in part, the costs of providing and maintaining services to students that include, but need not be limited to: Access to the internet and world wide web, e-mail, computer and multimedia work stations and laboratories, computer software, and dial-up telephone services.
Prior to the establishment of a technology fee, a governing board shall provide to the student governing body a list of existing fees of a similar nature or for a similar purpose. The board and the student governing body shall ensure that student fees for technology are not duplicative.

The original Technology Fee for Eastern Washington University students was established in 2001 at $35 per student, per quarter. Currently, the fee has been increased as of 2017-2018 school year and is at $40 per student, per quarter.

STFC Guidelines

General

A Student Technology Fee Committee (STFC) has been established by the ASEWU as an oversight committee to fulfill the role of Section 1, Subsection 5 of RCW 28B.15.051 "The student government association or its equivalent shall approve the annual expenditure plan for the fee revenue." Composition of voting membership on the STFC should be established to ensure the committee majority is comprised by students, and is stipulated as follows:

Membership

Student Membership:

Five (5) general member seats shall be filled by students appointed by the ASEWU Council
One (1) seat shall be filled by ASEWU Council Position #9, Technology Advancement

Administrative/Faculty Membership:

One (1) seat shall be filled by a representative from The Division of Student Affairs as appointed by the Vice President of Student Affairs
One (1) seat shall be filled by a representative from the Library as appointed by the Vice President of Academic Affairs
One (1) seat at large for a faculty or staff member as appointed by the Vice President of Student Affairs
One (1) seat shall be filled by a representative from The Office of Information Technology as appointed by the Vice President of Information Technology & Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Ex-Officio Appointments (non-voting):

Dean of Students
ASEWU President
Vice President of Information Technology & CIO

Chair and Vice Chair:

The STFC shall be Chaired by ASEWU Council Position #9, Technology Advancement, as established in Bylaw 107; Section 14. The STFC Vice Chair shall be the designated Administrative member appointed by the Vice President of Information Technology & CIO.

Quorum

To establish quorum, there must be at least five (5) voting members. Students must constitute the majority of voting members present during any vote.

Administrative Support and Reporting

Administrative support will be provided by the VP of Information Technology's Office.
Meeting notes will be maintained to record general actions.
A website will be maintained to post projects, budgets, proposal guidelines and meeting notes.
Reporting: The leadership of the Student Technology Fee Committee shall report to the ASEWU Student Government officers on a quarterly basis.

Budget and Supplemental Funding

The STFC budget will be prepared each year according to the process and guidelines as established by the university's annual budgeting process. Prior to submitting the budget to the Board of Trustees, the STFC will bring the annual technology fee forecast and expenditure plan before the ASEWU Student Government officers for review and recommendation for approval, to include feedback provided by the Dean of Students and VP of Information Technology.
The forecast and expenditure plan is presented for final approval to Eastern Washington University's Board of Trustees.
Proposals: All investments that are not part of a recurring funding model or as part of the fixed expense budget shall be treated as projects and will follow the STFC Initiative funding process.
Supplemental Funding: As part of the annual budgeting and approval process, the committee is authorized to expend the "Planned (Contingency)" allocation, not to exceed $100,000. Reporting requirements still remain as listed below.

Student-Focused Technology Fee Definitions

The STFC has agreed to the following definitions as they pertain to these guidelines:

"General Use" Computer Lab (physical or virtual) For students who have paid the technology fee:

A computer lab open to all Eastern Washington University students during all hours of the lab's operation
A computer lab where all registered students have equal access at any time with no "bumping rights"
A computer lab that directly supports the general computing needs of the majority of students at Eastern
A computer lab available for general student use an average of 10 hours per day during the time of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., seven days per week (excluding holidays and break weeks)
General Use computer lab equipment and software is funded by the STFC
A computer lab that supports faculty requests for course-specific software installs. Such requests must follow the faculty software request process of the General Access University Computer Labs
Labs fitting this definition will be the first priority by the STFC for funding of general student use equipment and software replacement

Sticker Rule:

An adhesive sticker will be placed on items purchased from STFC monies. A member of the STFC, student, staff member, and/or ASEWU Officer should be able to walk throughout the University and easily identify STFC funded technologies.

General Access University Computer Lab:

Labs funded by STFC and supported by the Office of Information Technology, which meet the STFC's General Use computer lab definition.

Fee Amount & Implementation Schedule:

A fee not to exceed $40 per academic quarter will be assessed for individuals with full-time student status. Part-time students will be charged on a pro rata basis.

Pro-Rated Payment Schedule:

In accordance with RCW 28B.15.051, part-time students will be charged a portion of the mandatory technology fee based on a pro-rata payment schedule.

Request for Waiver:

The Student Technology Fee Committee has determined that requests for waivers will not be accepted nor approved. Students may write to the Associated Students of Eastern Washington University to express their opinion about this decision.

STFC Program Intent

Consistent with the enabling RCW, the primary intent of the mandatory technology fee is to collect funds, which will be used to benefit the greatest number of students possible. In this light, the STFC's top priority is to ensure that "General Use" technology spaces and computer labs have priority funding for equipment renewal. The expressed goal of the STFC is to fund for student general access technologies. The STFC is in support of a five-year equipment replacement cycle; however, actual funding levels may permit the STFC's ability to adjust the replacement cycle for all STFC funded technologies.
The STFC encourages General Use computer labs to provide students with a consistent computing platform, for students' common computing needs. In order to foster this consistency, all STFC funded technologies will conform to those standards as established by The Office of Information Technology. Moreover, those technologies and services funded by the STFC must be configured, deployed, managed, and supported by The Office of Information Technology and in compliance with university standards (i.e., computing, networking, telecommunications, space usage, and electrical standards).
The STFC is concerned that technology fee monies be spent on prevailing technology needs of the general student population. For this reason, requests must clearly justify and document the need for the requested item(s). For example, requests for equipment designed to reduce lab wait lists may be justified by providing summary reports of lab traffic/usage patterns over the course of prior academic terms.
The STFC intends to fund requests that most directly benefit the general technology use of Eastern students. The STFC looks to the department, college, or unit to fund requests for expenses such as, but not limited to, the following: (1) consumable items such as paper, toner, diskettes, office supplies, etc., (2) maintenance or repair of equipment funded on a one-time basis, (3) other costs such as security, electrical, heating, promotional costs, printing, etc.
The STFC intends that funds be spent on technologies such as computing hardware (computers, printers, etc.) and general use computing software with a minimal percentage of funds being spent on other items (see above the definition of the "sticker rule").
The STFC may not be able to fund all projects and therefore, projects that do not seem to indicate significant student demand as indicated by student input and other supporting documentation are less likely to receive funding.
The STFC will review historical materials to understand the focus and intent of each lab's service level for general student use. These materials include, but may not be limited to: an audit of previous spending patterns; documentation which supports the cooperation and effort of the lab to work with other general use computer labs; input from the university's computing governance structure; and student, faculty, and staff input regarding the lab's service level for general student use.
RCW 28B.15.051 stipulates that the technology fee be used "exclusively for technology resources for general student use." Requests for funds for items that deviate from that tenant fall outside of the scope of this committee.