Off-campus interns shouldn't have to pay on-campus fees

Many students at the University of Montana will take summer internships at one point to gain real world experience.
And all interns – no matter how far away from Missoula they work – will have to pay a few hundred dollars to UM in return for credit. However, the hefty price tag also covers fees for luxuries off-campus interns won’t use. 

Many students at the University of Montana will take summer internships at one point to gain real world experience.
And all interns – no matter how far away from Missoula they work – will have to pay a few hundred dollars to UM in return for credit. However, the hefty price tag also covers fees for luxuries off-campus interns won’t use.
To receive college credit, students have to sign up for a class and pay for it. And instead of allowing that credit to be added to fall classes so it would fall in the flat spot – in which a student’s tuition stays the same – UM makes students pay all the regular fees for one summer credit.
The University charges these students for use of UM’s buildings, computers and other facilities like the University Center, even though many never set foot in Missoula or even the state.
It doesn’t matter if you’re working in Timbuktu. UM will still charge you for using its buildings and computers, no exceptions.
I took a reporting internship at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle this summer and had to register for one credit.
After registering in April, I checked my Cyberbear account and saw UM charged me $305.15 in fees.
I was paying all the same fees a student taking classes on campus would pay, but I wasn’t even here.
Business Services and Internship Services both responded to my concerns with the same stock response: that’s just how the University does it.
How the University does it is unacceptable. UM is a business providing students a service in exchange for their money. If students can’t possibly use a service, they shouldn’t have to pay for it. It’s that simple.
There’s no sense in burning money, but UM forces students, across the disciplines, to do just that.
UM claims to care and says it sets tuition and fees as reasonably as they can, but they could do more if they only tried. In a time when people talk of tuition freezes and making college more affordable, it is outrageous for the University to be sucking every penny from students.
The University of Montana is charging students to work, and it’s not like interns will necessarily get their money back from their summer employers. Many students take unpaid internships and struggle through the summer working two or more jobs.
A few hundred dollars may seem meager to the University, but to students who don’t even get the benefit of the services they’re paying for, it’s a tough bill to swallow.
– Trevon Milliard, news editor, trevon.milliard@umontana.edu