Save The Collegian

The rationale & benefits of a fee increase

The Collegian is a major source of campus news and information for students, faculty and staff, as well as one of the few unifying features of the university. The news coverage is by the students for the students and free of any administrative directives.

Without the fee increase, The Collegian will be forced to further cut back on staff and how often it publishes. Continued benefit and salary increases, equipment needs and technology costs will endanger The Collegian’s survivability– both online and print. Fewer staff means fewer stories about what is going on at Fresno State.

Please refer to our FAQ for more information about The Collegian and its proposed fee increase.

The fee increase proposal

To provide operational stability and accommodate inflation, The Collegian is requesting an increase from $5.50 a semester to $9.75 a semester beginning in 2020-2021. Starting in in 2021-2022, the fee would increase 3 percent annually to account for future jumps in the minimum wage, salaries/benefits for advisers, and other costs.

If adopted, this fee would allow The Collegian to hire more student journalists, upgrade its computers and newsroom, redesign its website, launch a mobile app, allow travel for student training, print up to 12 additional supplements per semester that would be produced by Fresno State student groups, schools and colleges, and/or Student Affairs, and create an annual Dog Days publication.

Student Fee History- No increase since 2009

The Collegian Fee

The student Collegian fee is a mandatory fee that students pay each semester. It currently accounts for 77% of The Collegian’s operating budget.

Services covered by the fee

The Collegian uses the money to compensate student journalists, faculty advisers, and part-time financial and operational staff, as well to pay for The Collegian printing 15 issues per semester, 24/7 digital newspaper, equipment, and operations.

The Collegian Student Fee History

A fee was established in 1989 and was set at $3 annually. That fee stayed constant until the approval of a subsequent proposal that called for annual increases from 2006 to 2009. In 2009, the annual fee went from $9 to $11, where it remains to this ady.

Since 2009

• Advertising sales have dropped 71% and are currently projected at $70,000 for the academic year 2019-2020.
• The minimum wage paid to The Collegian staff has increased 50% and is on its way to nearly doubling.
• The Collegian has had to assume payment of advisers salaries and staff benefits previously paid by the University/College.
• As stopgap solutions, The Collegian has cut all maintenance expenses and reduce paid student staff by 38%.
• The number of print publications was reduced from 3 times a week to once a week