Student Union Fee Problems at DKU

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   At this time of every year, similar questions about student union fees are posted to the online community ‘Everytime’. There are two types of fees. One is a fee for the General Student Council covering expenses incurred when operating independent student organizations and the other is the fee for the College Student Council, which cover expenses incurred for the operation of college student unions and events or activities that only students belonging to each department or major can participate in. The former costs 7,000 won for students of the Jukjeon Campus and 12,000 won for students at the Cheonan Campus and is charged at the beginning of every semester together with tuition. The latter amount varies by major, but is estimated to be between 150,000 to 300,000 won and every freshman is asked to pay it during their first semester after admission to their respective college. The payment is required only once throughout their entire school life. The money is used for various events hosted by each department, such as Membership Training and department or Teacher's Day events.

   People who paid the student union fees enjoy the benefit of not having to pay extra money for various mandatory activities that the school provides. When it comes to the Membership Training program, people who paid the fee will be charged 20,000 won, but people who did not will have to pay 30,000 won. In addition, students who paid the fees have priority in the order of arrival at snack parties. In other words, the Student Council prioritizes and confers a benefit to those who pay the fee. When they have benefits to spare, people in arrears can access the rest. Event organizers divide up the payers and defaulters with those committed to the cause, being treated on a preferential basis. But this is not always the case. There are some events where the defaulters have a small percentage advantage.

¡ã Freshmen are using Everytime to get information about school union fees. (Photo from the Dankook Herald)

   The Dankook Herald (DKH) surveyed Dankookians (Students of Dankook University) to find out what students knew about the fees. 5 Dankookians responded. Most felt the burden of paying the department fees and all of them believed they were not getting the right number of benefits in exchange for how much they paid. When asked how much money they paid for the student fee, three of them said they paid about 200,000 won. Some of them wanted to get their money back and the reasons behind it were the following; Since most of the school events are conducted online, they have to check their phones often to get information on what benefits are available, and they have learned they often do not come close to the amount they paid. In addition, going to school during the Covid-19 crisis to receive a benefit or rewards from participating in Student Council events is burdensome. Unless the prizes are available online, students must go to school physically to get that reward and most see it as not worth the effort.

   Another reason why students are reluctant to pay student fees is their concern about it being misused. In 2019, the planning director of the 35th Boram General Student Council was found to have embezzled funds by cashing in about 980,000 won (600,000 won and 380,000 won for additional detection) when he was the president of the Pharmaceutical Engineering College Student Council. They received two warnings from the 34th Jinri General Committee in the name of violating audit rules and had their food expenses confiscated. Eventually, the alleged embezzler resigned from the student council and reimbursed the body for the money that was unfairly acquired.  The student also received a two week suspension and two weeks of school service as disciplinary action.

   Despite these drawbacks, there remains pressure on students to pay the council fees, with the threat that they will be disadvantaged at graduation. A freshman who is under the College of Music and Arts posted on Everytime anonymously that they were forced to pay 400,000 won for student fees after receiving a request directly from a 1:1 text. Some students are burdened by paying they full four years' worth of fees at a time when they are freshmen but also worried about their major experiences and graduation if they did not comply.

   The DKH interviewed a representative from the College of Music and Arts Student Council about their management of the student fee. They said their fees are used for events, exhibitions, and performances held every year, and the amount of money is fixed by reflecting the rate of inflation. The benefits that students acquire during their school years differs from department to department, but students get support for things like snack parties, athletic competitions, and more. But more importantly, students also get support for graduation exhibitions and any equipment that is departmentally necessary. The Student Council representative said “There is no big correlation between paying the student fee and your graduation/future career. However, because of the department’s practical exercises, it requires more activities than regular classes and we are offering better experiences for them using this funding. However, in terms of these experiences, there might be differences between students who paid and students who did not.” They also clarified that students can get refunds, depending on how many semesters they have left, when changing their department, transferring or leaving the school voluntarily. They also inform students of their spending and the semester budget during the opening and end-of-class general meetings. Students also have access to audit results, which are uploaded every month on Facebook, and can seek out clarification on expenditures through Facebook messenger. Lastly, the representative said, “There are no further payments of the student fees during their academic career, unless they did not pay the full amount when they were freshmen. It is also not mandatory to pay the fee to become a member of the Student Council.”

¡ã The College of Music and Arts Student Council is posting their spending and monthly budget on Facebook to inform students. (Photo from Facebook)

   Though various controversies over student fees, including a suspicion of misuse and the issue of enforcement, are almost gone, one or two cases per semester seem to remain. Student Councils should never force freshmen to pay the fee. If they keep spending funds exclusively on events to support a better school life, more will gladly pay for it. Individual students should have a responsible and an enthusiastic attitude towards keeping the union spending in check. At the same time, student representative councils should monitor their expenditures closely. At the end of the day, it is up to students to decide whether the expense is worthwhile and the organization is trustworthy.


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