PRESIDENT Miriam E. Pascua during the regular administrative council meeting last June 15 explained the reason behind the collection of P500 and P1,000 for college and elementary and high school students, respectively, as “Student Development Fee (SDF)”.

This came about when Student Regent Edison Riñen, Central Student Council president, inquired about the intended use of the SDF.

According to Dr. Pascua, the collection of such fee was approved by the board of regents (BOR), the university’s highest governing body, in its regular meeting in March 2005 at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.  The approval is embodied in Resolution No. 704, series of 2005 which states BOR’s aim “to improve quality of resident instruction and provide services for the total development of the students”.

The SDF was conceived to finance university projects and activities that redound to the total development of students.  “The amount will be used to repair facilities, improve laboratories, and other projects and activities related to the instruction function of the university,” the president asserted. “We do not just depend on allocated amount from the government especially so that we do not have budget for infrastructure,” she explained.

She further said that among the five state universities and colleges in Region I, MMSU collects the lowest tuition fee at P50 per unit.  “The others collect P75-100 a unit.  Even if we charge P500 per student as SDF, you still pay the least,” she told Riñen.