04/30/2025 08:00 AM House EDUCATION

                HB 176-UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FEES                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
8:07:45 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT announced  that  the next  order of  business                                                               
would be  HOUSE BILL NO. 176,  "An Act relating to  notice of new                                                               
fees and  fee increases from  the University of  Alaska; relating                                                               
to  billing  statements  from  the   University  of  Alaska;  and                                                               
providing for an effective date."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
8:08:06 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ASHLEY  CARRICK,  Alaska  State  Legislature,  as                                                               
prime sponsor, presented  HB 176 to the committee.  She read from                                                               
the  sponsor statement  for  HB 176  [included  in the  committee                                                               
packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
          Student   fees  in   the  UA   system  have   been                                                                    
     consolidated at  each of the three  main campuses since                                                                    
     at least  2020. These consolidated fees  are easier for                                                                    
     University of Alaska  administration to process, though                                                                    
     consolidation  provides   far  less   transparency  for                                                                    
     students. In addition to the  lack of fee transparency,                                                                    
     the  University  system  is  not  required  to  consult                                                                    
     students  in the  creation or  raising  of fees.  Until                                                                    
     last year, the University  of Alaska Fairbanks involved                                                                    
     student leaders in the fee  process through the Tuition                                                                    
     and Fee  Committee. However, UAF changed  its committee                                                                    
     structure to only allow  student involvement in tuition                                                                    
     decisions,  not  fees,  and   there  is  no  formalized                                                                    
     process for student involvement  at either of the other                                                                    
     main  campuses.   This  lack  of   student  involvement                                                                    
     coupled  with the  lack of  transparency  in what  fees                                                                    
     students  actually  pay   are  concerning  for  student                                                                    
     choice and freedom of information.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     HB 176 seeks to  provide more transparency for students                                                                    
     in  the fee  process.  It would  require  the Board  of                                                                    
     Regents  to give  students  notice when  a  new fee  is                                                                    
     implemented  or when  fees are  raised.  It would  also                                                                    
     require  all UA  schools  to  provide itemized  billing                                                                    
     statements  detailing how  much students  pay for  each                                                                    
     component of  their fees. While the  fee categories and                                                                    
     the amount of  the consolidated fee are  required to be                                                                    
     published online,  it is  often extremely  difficult to                                                                    
     find the  amount allocated  to each  category. Students                                                                    
     can see the general categories  their fees pay for, but                                                                    
     they  usually do  not see  the dollar  amount paid  for                                                                    
     each   service,   such   as   student   activities   or                                                                    
     recreation.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     With HB  176, our hope  is to provide  more information                                                                    
     to   students  about   what  students   seeking  higher                                                                    
     education  pay  for  and  to  support  their  right  to                                                                    
     transparency for where their dollars will be spent.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:11:29 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
GRIFFEN SUKKAEW,  Staff, Alaska  State Legislature, on  behalf of                                                               
Representative Ashley  Carrick, prime  sponsor, presented  HB 176                                                               
to the committee. He read from  the sectional analysis for HB 176                                                               
[included  in  the  committee  packet],  which  read  as  follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Section 1: Page 1, Lines 5-7                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
          Section 1 creates a short title for this bill.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2: Page 1, Lines 8-14 and Page 2, Lines 1-3                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
          This  section adds  subsection AS  14.40.170 which                                                                    
          requires  the Board  of Regents  to specify  three                                                                    
          things before imposing a new fee:                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
               • the amount of the fee                                                                                          
               • the reason for the fee                                                                                         
               • the fee's status as temporary or permanent                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Section 3: Page 2, Lines 4-7                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
          Adds a  new section,  AS 14.40.252,  that requires                                                                    
          the University of Alaska  to provide students with                                                                    
          itemized  billing statements  showing all  tuition                                                                    
          and fees that were charged to the student.                                                                            
     Section 4: Page 2, Line 8                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
         This section establishes an effective date of                                                                          
          July 1, 2027                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:12:34 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked what  the current consolidated fees                                                               
at the University of Alaska  Fairbanks (UAF) are comprised of and                                                               
asked if  there is a  dollar amount  that could be  attributed to                                                               
the fee.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CARRICK answered  that the  UAF consolidated  fee                                                               
currently  includes things  like gym  memberships, Information  &                                                               
Technology services, and Administrative  services.  She explained                                                               
how a  student attending  UAF before 2020  would have  received a                                                               
tuition bill that individually listed  out each fee, not simply a                                                               
consolidated fee like the one that is presently used.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:15:50 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID  asked what  different types of  fees are                                                               
represented within a consolidated fee issued by UAF.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK  answered that  there are  "probably" 6-10                                                               
fees represented within a consolidated fee issued by UAF.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:17:33 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY  asked Representative Carrick if  she could obtain                                                               
a list of items within the  current consolidated fees issued to a                                                               
student.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CARRICK replied  that  she would  follow up  with                                                               
more information later.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:20:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked  why the decision to  not issue an                                                               
itemized fee statement was made.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SUKKAEW pointed  to  a  statement made  by  the UAF  tuition                                                               
committee when the initial change was made.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:22:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT  opened public  testimony  on  HB 176.  After                                                               
ascertaining that  there was  no one who  wished to  testify, she                                                               
closed public testimony.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
[HB 176 was held over].