By Johnathan Masters–

Recently, the Student Government Association recommended the Provost eliminate the $20 to $40 diploma fee, ending a fee that has been instituted for over 30 years.

Shirley Willihnganz, the Provost of U of L, wrote that “after consultation with President Ramsey and Mr. Mike Curtin, Vice President for Finance, I have accepted your recommendations to suspend the fee, beginning with applications for graduation in this fall term, 2011.”

Max Morley, the senior advisor to SGA, said that the diploma fees were like a “slap in the face” for students right before they graduate.

According to SGA President Kurtis Frizzell, young alumni are “the hardest base to rally. We eliminated the fee in order to give back to the students. It also has the added benefit of encouraging young alumni to not leave the university with a bad taste in their mouths, and are more apt to give back to the university.”

According to Willihnganz, “the fee was instituted years ago to underwrite the costs of commencement, diploma production and other services related to graduation.”

Will Moppins, a freshman undecided major, appreciated the diploma fees getting cut because “most of us are broke college students. Most of us don’t have much money for anything, and the fact that we have to pay to graduate seems a little off to me.”

Jeremy Wright, a senior sociology major, said “they are getting enough out of us with the tuition raise, and then there’s extra money for lab and lab materials. They are nickel-and-diming us, and it’s good to get a couple of those nickels and dimes back.”

Freshman Brian Keener, computer engineering major, said “if it says cut, that’s great. Any money saved is a plus.”

Frizzell said “I want to convey my appreciation to the Provost and the university administration for working with SGA to get this accomplished. Since this was put in place over 30 years ago, President Ramsey, Shirley Willihnganz and others had nothing to do with the passage of diploma fees, and everything with getting them cut.”

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Photo courtesy SGA