A proposed Barrett Honors College fee is back on the table after the Arizona Board of Regents rejected the proposal last April.
The fee would charge incoming freshmen $500 and upperclassmen $250 per year. The Arizona Board of Regents will vote on the proposal in March.
Honors College Dean Mark Jacobs spoke to a group of about 30 honors students during a meeting Tuesday night regarding the merits of the proposed fee.
"We think we could be a lot better honors college with this boost," he said.
The fee would provide $775,000 to the college, although 30 percent would be set aside for financial aid, Jacobs said.
After the 30 percent is set aside, the fee would still generate $542,500 in revenue.
Jacobs said the money would be distributed among several departments and programs within the college.
The revenue would allow for new curriculum development, including 20 new footnote 19 honors courses, which give honors students the option of taking regular courses for honors credit, and five new honors English 101 and 102 sections, at a cost of $90,000.
Jacobs hopes to add 270 thesis mentors at a total cost of $135,000 and a project fund for theses and study-abroad scholarships totaling $120,000.
He also wants to hire three new faculty members and an adviser, as well as create a new internship office and a special-projects fund for a total of $317,500.
"If we want to progress as an honors college, this is the way," he added.
Jacobs said he would work with a committee of four or five students to determine exactly how the money is spent in the programs.
"We always want student agreement on how we use funds," he added.
Devin Mauney, an economics and global studies freshman, said he supports the fee because it will go directly back into the honors college.
"The benefits far outweigh the costs," he said. "It's preferable to a general rise in tuition because students will be able to control the fee."
Jacobs said students who are financially unable to pay the fee would have help through financial aid.
Any student who shows need through FAFSA or is approved by the college would receive aid, Jacobs added.
Some students at the meeting said the discussion changed their minds about the fee.
Cassie Pawling, a math freshman, said she thinks the benefits of the fee are good, but still has doubts.
"I would like to say I support it, but I still have concerns about how the money is going to be distributed," she said.
Reach the reporter at kristi.eaton@asu.edu.
