Fees aid students

A policy that started this month will change the way people use the automatic teller machine (ATM) at tall the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) schools. Every time students, faculty, or staff members use the ATM machines they will be charged $1.50 for the transaction no matter what bank they use.

The money that is collected from the ATMs will go towards different programs that serve the school as a whole. “Part of the revenue can be used primarily to fund student programs, and a smaller portion will support faculty development,” said Steve Ledford, DCCCD’s auxiliary business service manager, in an e-mail. This means that the programs that have been neglected because of cutbacks will be helped by the new revenue change.

However, why is there the sudden change in the procedure for the ATMs? “Our previous vendor did not provide any revues,” said Ledford. “When we sought new vendors, we decided that service and revenue would be the two principle criteria in evaluation of all bids; this was not satisfied, so we went with our own idea.”

Most people we asked did not like the idea of paying an extra fee no matter which bank they had, but when they realized that the money goes to the schools to provide better services, most jumped at the idea. “I had a bank account that did not charge a fee, and now, because of this plan, I have to pay it,” said Brian Cox, a students at North Lake. “But when you think about the benefits that we do get, I think that it will be worth the $1.50 that I will have to pay.”

Not everyone will be so happy with the new program. “I don’t want to have to pay the fee if I didn’t before,” said student James Thompson. I will just not use the ATMs on campus if they force me to pay for it.”

How much could the fee total per year? If projections remain constant, the DCCCD should pull in an extra $58,000 a year to help with programs that have been cut back due to budget reductions. “I think that the new idea is finally a solution to the major problems that have been going on because of the cutbacks,” said Cox.

“I think that the new program is awesome; instead of some big company getting the money, all of it goes back into the school and that is better in the long run,” said student Lee Smith.