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UTSA students taking summer classes hit with mandatory fees

Other colleges, including the University of Houston, waiving fees while remote learning takes place

SAN ANTONIO – University of Texas at San Antonio students enrolled in summer courses will be required to pay mandatory fees, even as universities across the country waive them.

“When you’re charged an athletic fee and there’s no athletic events to go to, it just doesn’t seem right,” said Betsy Smith, whose son is enrolled in four courses this summer that have been moved online as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

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A bill for her son’s summer tuition contained around $1,700 in fees, including $240 for athletics and $120 for the recreation center.

Reached for comment Monday, a UTSA spokesman directed KSAT to a website explaining why mandatory fees remain while remote, off-campus learning takes place.

The site indicates that the fees help provide for essential university functions, and that the decision to keep them in place this summer was “made in coordination with our UT System peers to ensure fees are assessed fairly and uniformly.”

“I understand the university still has bills to pay, they still have staff to pay, but they are charging transportation fees for buses that aren’t running,” said Smith.

The transportation fee charged to students is being used for fleet maintenance so that buses are ready to run once students return, UTSA says.

A UTSA spokesman did not respond to an email asking what sort of maintenance is performed on a bus that is not currently in use.

UTSA’s website indicates that even though the recreation center is closed, individualized training sessions, nutrition consultations and group exercise classes are being offered online.

Smith’s daughter, who is a student at the University of Houston, is also taking summer courses. However, mandatory fees at that university have been waived, according to billing records shared by Smith.

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An email from the UH Office of the Provost included the following statement:

“Recognizing that all of you are juggling this change with uncertainty in your personal lives, the University is providing assistance to help overcome short-term resource and financial obstacles and ensure you can continue your studies.”

Click here to see KSAT’s latest coronavirus coverage.


About the Authors
Dillon Collier headshot

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.

Joshua Saunders headshot

Joshua Saunders is an Emmy-nominated photographer/editor who has worked in the San Antonio market for the past 20 years. Joshua works in the Defenders unit, covering crime and corruption throughout the city.

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