Gavilan College students receiving Board of Governor’s
Grant-Part B financial aid will start paying a $14 health fee for
the spring semester, following a Board of Trustees decision to
implement the fee hike.
Gilroy – Gavilan College students receiving Board of Governor’s Grant-Part B financial aid will start paying a $14 health fee for the spring semester, following a Board of Trustees decision to implement the fee hike.
Previously, only students not receiving financial aid were required to pay the health fee. Some students will continue to be exempt from the fee, including those receiving Social Security aid, veterans and National Guard members.
“A state law was passed last year that OK’d this change in fees, and the board decided to implement that change on Oct. 10,” said Jan Bernstein-Chargin, the college’s public information officer. “The purpose of the change is to give colleges more money to spend on student health. There’s not another source of funding for this, and these fees are only used for health services – nothing else.”
Gavilan has a three-quarter time nurse who runs the college’s health fair, sees students in her office, responds to emergencies on campus, and provides services such as tuberculosis testing. With the additional funds coming in from the fees, Bernstein-Chargin said the school hopes to be able to extend these services.
But not everyone on campus sees the change in fees as the smart way to provide students health care.
“I think the fee hike is a sloppy and unprincipled solution,” said Betsy Avelar, the Associated Student Body president at Gavilan. “I understand that health services are definitely needed at Gavilan College, but I don’t think money to fund those services should be pulled from students’ pockets.”
Though some may consider $14 insignificant, Avelar said it can be the last straw to students struggling with their finances. She said if the college prioritized the way money is spent, there would be no need for the fee hike. For example, beautification projects such as the flowers and bird silhouette on the hillside near the student center on campus is money that could be better spent on health services, Avelar said.
“I just think the administration needs to be more student focused – and by student focused, I mean they should take into account every group of students on campus,” she explained.
The state did not require all community colleges to adopt the change in fees. Schools decide for themselves whether to make the change. The Gavilan Board of Trustees voted to implement the fees for more students.
