LA Tech to discontinue fee paid by female students

Louisiana Tech University will discontinue a fee paid only by full-time, female students that caused a student to file a Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education.

Dave Guerin, executive director of university communications, issued a statement Wednesday that the university will restructure its fees.

“Although we have not yet seen the DOE complaint regarding the Association for Women Students fee, we are actively reviewing this fee assessment with the intent to discontinue it, effective this upcoming fall quarter,” he said. “Over the years, the AWS fee has funded many programs and campus improvement initiatives for female students.

“However, we believe the same benefits can be achieved through discontinuing the AWS fee and restructuring our broader fee assessment and allocation policies. It’s important for our president and for our administration to have an opportunity to hear and address the concerns of our students.”

Nick Smith, the student who lodged the complaint, wrote a story about the fee in Tech’s student-run magazine.

“One of the administrators basically said in the story I wrote that this is a fee that we already have. Good luck trying to get rid of it,” he told The News-Star last week.

On Wednesday, Smith said he was glad to see the fee removed.

“I’m really thankful and excited that the university decided to take preemptive action on this and addressed the concern of hundreds of students,” he said. “What this showed is that no matter what, the university is concerned with the student body and is concerned with the concerns of the student body. (President Les Guice) really showed the students that he really cares about us and the university, which he has shown time and time again.”

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