With a unanimous vote, approximately $828,700 will be returned to students in the form of segregated-fee reductions, the Student Services Finance Committee decided at a meeting Wednesday. This would return about $20 to each student within the next two years.
Each year, more than $650 of each student's tuition goes towards seg fees, and this year, approximately $830,000 of those fees were left unspent.
It would be inappropriate or absurd to not give all the money back to students,\ said Eric Varney, chair of the Associate Students of Madison.
The surplus of funds comes from unused money by organizations and from an overestimation of enrollment rates. Organizations are allowed to apply to the Segregated University Fee Allocation Committee to receive a portion of the unused funds if they prove their needs meet the criteria.
This year, the Legal Information Center, a free program staffed by UW-Madison law students, applied.
""This is definitely a service I'd like to see continue on campus,"" Varney said. After reviewing their proposal, SUFAC granted LIC $1,300 to fund their move from the Pres House to Union South over the summer Wednesday.
After granting money to LIC, the unused money totaled $828,700. According to SUFAC, there is no minimal amount the reserve needs to maintain. Therefore, they decided to give all the money back to students.
SUFAC member Jennifer Knox said there was a definitive ""outcry"" from the students wanting their money back.\
