Mandatory student fees may increase by 1 percent, or $30, next year, bringing the total annual bill to $2,916.

University administrators presented these proposed increases, along with hikes in housing rates, to the board of trustees’ audit, budget, finance and facilities committee at the meeting in Urbana on Monday. The board will formally vote on the proposals at its Jan. 23-24 meeting in Chicago.

Proposed fees are initially recommended by the Student Fee Advisory Committee and are sent to a number of University officials before they are forwarded to the board of trustees for approval.

Christophe Pierre, vice president for Academic Affairs, said the fees presented to the committee “come straight from campus recommendations.”

Unlike tuition, which is locked in for the years that a student remains enrolled, student fees can be changed from year to year for all students, rather than just freshmen.

Included in fee increases is a $1.85 per semester fee to support the operations of the Illini Media Company, the nonprofit that operates The Daily Illini. This new fee comes after a spring 2012 referendum in which students voted in favor of a $3 fee for the company 1,809 to 1,212.

These funds, if approved by the board, are expected to bring roughly $150,000 to Illini Media each year.

University administrators also proposed a $291 increase in the room and board fees for undergraduates living in on-campus housing. This proposed increase is less than the original 3.5 percent increase University Housing requested, according to an Oct. 31 report from SFAC.

Pierre said a significant part of this increase stems from the debt incurred as a result of the new dorm buildings being built in the Ikenberry Commons. This increase would bump housing rates for Urbana students up to $9,979 each year, which is lower than the Chicago and Springfield campuses, proposed at $10,261 and $10,350, respectively. 

Nathaniel can be reached at [email protected] and Lauren can be reached at [email protected].