Chico State faculty, administration and student government met and discussed rising fees in a meeting open to all students Monday.

The proposed fee adjustment, which will total $190 per semester, was broken into three categories from highest to lowest: Student Health Services ($99), athletics ($51), and students learning ($40). Each of the categories and their importance were discussed at length by faculty in their respective fields.

Nursing Supervisor Jill Cannaday spoke first on the health services fee.

“We have wait times of 15 business days, up to 3 weeks for appointments,” she said. During peak walk-in hours Cannaday said the Student Health Center has to operate in triage mode. “We have to turn people away,” Cannaday said.

She said the department hoped to make pay more competitive to healthcare personnel to attract more interest and fill positions that have been vacant for years.

David Hassenzahl, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, spoke next on the importance of the student learning fee and explained it will help provide more laboratory applications, increase library subscriptions, and help to keep the college more technologically competitive.

Athletics Director Anita Barker then spoke on the athletics fee increases. “It brings pride to the community, and promotes a healthy lifestyle,” she said. It has also been underfunded for years, she added.

Student council members were able to ask a few questions before the scheduled time ran out.

@theorion_news questions about the fee increases getting into the specifics pic.twitter.com/CoagADqSED

— Josh Cozine (@joshcozine) February 20, 2018

One council member asked how much students would really see from the increased health fees, and another asked if it would be possible to see a better breakdown of where the total numbers for the fees came from.

Faculty and admin said they would look into providing answers to these questions, and that concerned students can provide feedback through an online survey open until March 16.

Josh Cozine can be reached at [email protected] or @joshcozine on Twitter.