Certain classes in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, like jewelry making, ceramics and sculpture, come with additional fees, and students who are non-VPA majors face even greater ones.

Students who take classes in VPA are charged with a program fee, covering expenses for applied music instruction, specialized studio art supplies, dramatic productions, visiting artists and equipment and technology, according to the college’s course catalog.

Students who do not have a major or minor in VPA are charged $25 per credit hour for the courses they take. These charges are applied to the student’s Bursar account after the financial add-drop deadline, according to the Syracuse University Bulletin: Tuition, Fees and Related Policies document.

Aly Canal, a senior architecture major taking JAM 271: “Intro to Jewelry and Metalsmithing,” said she had to pay $75 for the course because of the fee.

“You have the choice as to whether you want to buy the materials,” Canal said. “So far, the only extra thing I have bought is a sheet of silver that was about $30.”

Only two people have dropped the class so far and, Canal said, to her knowledge, they dropped it because they just didn’t have the time to put into the class.

Samuel Van Aken, an associate professor of sculpture, said teaching non-VPA students is not unusual for him, but there is usually a small number. Out of a group of 17 students, he estimated that about one-fourth are not in VPA.

Van Aken explained that the student fees cover equipment and other materials students might use while in class.

“We try to make it so that the amount you pay is less than what you would ordinarily pay for textbooks,” he said. “Generally students in sculpture pay about $75 per semester, but it does depend on the class they’re taking.”

Students taking the introductory course in jewelry and metalsmithing have the option to borrow tools. For higher-level courses, students must buy their own tools, said Barbara Walter, a professor of jewelry and metalsmithing.

She said there are several students in her class that are non-VPA majors.

Students that do drop the course, Walter said, do so because of the time commitment, not because of the cost.

“Being an art student is expensive, whether it’s your major or not,” she said. “I try to help out by bringing my own tools and supplies for students to use. For the non-VPA students that take these classes, the $25-per-credit-hour fee is actually a pretty good deal.”

Melissa Sack, a senior fashion design major who is currently taking ceramics, said she has an $80 clay fee in addition to other materials she is expected to buy.

Because she is a VPA major, Sack said, she does not have to pay the $25 per credit hour for the course. She also said so far, only about four people have dropped the ceramics class she is in, but she doesn’t believe their reasons for dropping had anything to do with the class fees.

Abby Goldstein, a senior advertising design major who does not have to pay the $25 fee for her ceramics class because she is a VPA student, said fees like these do accumulate after time.

Said Goldstein: “Once you are in the class, you are sucked into paying the fee.”

Published on November 5, 2012 at 12:01 am

Contact Dayo: dtadelak@syr.edu