Graduate students will vote on a fee increase proposal next quarter after the graduate student government voted Wednesday to put the issue on the spring election ballot.
The forum voted to approve a referendum for an increase to quarterly student fees by a vote of 13-6.
If approved, fees would increase by $5 per quarter, a total $15 increase for the entire year.
Additionally, the fees would be adjusted for inflation every three years.
The fee increase must be passed by 10 percent of voting graduate students.
To achieve the 10 percent voter turnout, the Graduate Students Association will rely on its elections board to encourage graduate students to vote, said GSA President Michael Weismeyer.
If approved, the fee increase will go into effect at the beginning of the next academic year.
If not enough students turn out to cast votes, however, the increase won’t pass ““ a legitimate concern for student leadership. Less than 10 percent of graduate students voted in last year’s spring election.
“I voted to put it on the ballot because all these programs need money,” said Nicole Robinson, the Graduate Students Association forum representative from the Humanities Council. “I’m dubious that 10 percent of the graduate population will vote, though.”
Most of the funds from the proposed fee increase will go toward paying for GSA events and increasing funding for the Graduate Writing Center.
The Graduate Writing Center is currently projected to run a $20,000 deficit by 2015.
Increasing funds for the center will prevent it from running a future deficit and allow it to possibly expand services as well, said Weismeyer.
Currently, funding for GSA events comes from surplus funding, which is not sustainable, he added.
This was one of the reasons the forum decided to propose the increase.
An additional portion of the proposed fee increase would be directed toward financial aid for graduate students, Weismeyer said.
Autumn York, a GSA representative from the Biological Sciences Council, voted against the referendum.
“I was unsure of the breakdown of the fee increase,” York said. “If students want the increase though, great. If they don’t, they’ll vote against it.”
The last time the fees were raised was in 2006, for the creation of the Graduate Writing Center.