Students at Nicholls may have noticed an energy surcharge fee added to their bills this semester. “The surcharge is actually being implemented to help off-set the rising cost of utilities,” Mike Naquin, assistant vice president for financial services for business affairs, said.

Students were charged $3 for each credit hour they were enrolled in. This fee was capped off at a maximum of 12 hours, so the most a student would pay would be $36.

Naquin said these changes are not permanent and are only in place for three years.

“Depending upon what happens to utility rates, that’s what’s going to determine whether or not they are in place for the entire three years,” he said.

Nicholls has the obligation to be in compliance with the Board of Regents Guidelines for the energy surcharge.

The Board of Regents used the 1999-2000 energy cost figures as a baseline for determining the increased cost of energy, as stated in a recent press release from the Board of Regents.

The Board said that all monies from the surcharge were to be placed in a restricted account that can be audited.

Also, monies collected can only be used to off-set 75 percent of the increased cost of energy.

The Board also said any money not used in the semester should be considered in setting the surcharge rates for the following semester, and the rate should be adjusted accordingly.

“We cannot use any of this surcharge to pay for any increase energy consumption.

“Ayo Hall is considered increased consumption, and no funds from the surcharge can be used to pay for those rising costs,” he said.

“(The surcharge) is strictly just for the University operating budget which is what funds the academic area of the university.

“Facilities, like the cafeteria and residence halls, are not covered under the surcharge fee. They are dealing with the rise in energy cost in their own way,” Naquin said.

Students around campus expressed their views on the added expense to their bill.

“I think the university could have done something different because they are charging us enough for school,” Tara Creel, mass communication junior from Galliano, said.

“It did not really bother me, because it was such a small amount,” Myrtha Blanchard, elementary education sophomore from Houma, said.

The Student Advisory Council, which is made up of all eight Student Government Presidents in the University of Louisiana System, was given the bill by the Board of Regents, in hopes to gain their approval, since all major decisions are voted on by them.

Brent Callais, SGA president, went to the meeting where the bill was proposed in May.

. “With the energy surcharge, the Board recommended to us that this would be a three-year trial period.

“All eight of us voted unanimously to recommend that the energy surcharge take place,” Callais said.

“The Council did strongly recommend that the fee be adjusted each year according to cost, and that this not be another add-on to fee bills,” he said.

Each school within the system is setting the price for the fee in it’s own way, and Nicholls was not badly affected compared with other universities within the system.

“With these higher energy costs, the University would have to cut back on some of the services that they offer to the students, and I did not want to see the students suffer to help,” Callais said.

Naquin said the University is doing its part to help conserve energy because of the rising cost.

He said they are re-caulking and waterproofing windows, upgrading light fixtures and adjusting the air-condition start and stop times.