University of Alaska students won't have to wait until next year for tuition increase, as a new tuition-based fee gets tacked on next semester.

Students will be charged a 2 percent fee based on their credit hour costs to cover network access and maintenance. The fee, announced last year during a proposed tuition hike, received little attention at the time, despite raising college costs.

President Mark Hamilton announced the fee, called the "network charge," last April in order to address the "rapidly rising" network costs.  The charge could be used for various uses, including increasing bandwith, expanding wireless connections and enhancing network security.

Some of the fee may also be used for MyUA, a web-based student service, but a technology services FAQ says the fee was not established specifically for it. Students do have a voice in how the fee is used, it says, but not in its institution.

Full-time residents taking 12 credits will owe $24 to $27, depending on their credit levels. Non-residents will be hit harder, with $79 to $83, while graduate students taking nine credits would owe $40 for residents and $82 for non-residents.

Statewide will receive 1 percent of the fee, under the control of the chief information and technology officer. They anticipate receiving $640,000 for next semester and $1.4 million next year, according to the UA Office of Budget and Institutional Research.

The other half will be allocated amongst the different campuses depending on tuition payments. UAF expects $113,000 next semester and $249,250 next year, according to the FAQ.

The fee should not be mistaken for the student technology fee, a $5 per credit hour charge for campus computing and technology improvements. That fee, approved in 1997, may not exceed $60.

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