University President Michael Adams opted to disregard a survey of 441 students, most of whom said they didn’t want such a high technology fee increase of $25, or an increase at all.

The “tech fee increase (was) not justified” with “good evidence,” said Daniel Byrd, president of the Graduate Student Association and head of the survey. Despite his efforts, the $25 technology fee increase proposal was sent to the Board of Regents.

Over 40 percent of respondents said they didn’t want a fee increase, according to the survey. More than 30 percent said they wanted a smaller increase.

Over 20 percent said they were in favor of an increase, according to survey numbers.

Byrd created the online survey and sent it to about 2,300 people on the GSA and Student Government Association listservs – roughly 10 percent of the student body. In total, 441 people replied, with an almost equal breakdown of SGA and GSA responses.

Byrd and Student Government Association Vice President Tucker Brown had first voted against the proposal Nov. 29, in a Mandatory Student Fee Advisory Committee meeting.

The committee also passed other fee increases, including a $13 transportation fee and a $3 student activity fee increase, though it voted not to increase the health fee.

Byrd and Brown met with Adams more than a week later.

“Adams said he wanted us to have time to ‘lobby the President,’” Byrd said. After the meeting, Adams said he’d “sleep on (his decision).’”

Later in the week, Byrd learned that Adams had approved the fee increase.

Administrators “had to take the long view,” said Hank Huckaby, senior vice president for finance and administration.

The technology fee has stayed at $75 for the past five years, Huckaby said.

The regents should vote on the proposed addition at their April meeting.

Jeffrey Brown, President of the Black Educational Support Team, was the third student representative on the Mandatory Student Fee Advisory Committee.

Brown cast a vote for the technology fee increase.

“I thought it would be beneficial to keep the computer system up-to-date,” Brown said. “It definitely looks good to people coming to visit our school that we have top-of-the-line technology.”