A fee committee approved a plan that will increase the cost ofroom and board in the five Sacramento State dorms by 10 percenteach year for the next three years.

Residents will be paying $496 more per year.Room and board costs for the 2004-05 academic year will be$6,474.

“We are 100 percentself-supporting,” said Cynthia Cockrill, director of housingand residential life. “We receive no state funding, whichmeans the whole program is run on student rent.”

Student rent pays for everything fromjanitorial service to administrative salaries, Cockrill said.

The fee committee that approved the new plan,which was recommended by the Housing and Residential LifeDepartment, is a university committee made up of students, facultyand administration.

Part of the fee increase will be put into areserve for the construction of on-campus apartment style housing,though Cockrill said the earliest construction can begin on thoseunits is fall 2007.

“Reserves need to be built up in orderto begin new projects, so part of the money will be set aside forthat,” Cockrill said.

Before Desmond Hall, the newest of the fivedorms, was constructed, fees for the 1990-91 academic year rose 14percent. The only time the fees do not increase is duringnon-building years, although inflation affects the cost as well,Cockrill said.

Despite the rising cost of tuition, parkingand books, Cockrill said she has received no negative responsesfrom students regarding the dorm fee increase.

Some students, like Chris Berry, a resident inSierra Hall, don’t mind the fee increase.

“It doesn’t affect me because myparents pay for it,” Barry said.

“I don’t know if I’llget to use them but I think apartment style dorms are a good idea.They will definitely make living on campus easier and maybe morefun,” said Carrie Cross, a Sutter Hall resident who plans tolive in the dorms for the three years she has left at SacState.

Cockrill credited the positive response partlyto the university’s new president.

“I think (President Alexander Gonzalez)has brought a new energy to CSUS, and I think students are feelingthe energy in a positive way,” Cockrill said.

Cockrill said the plan for apartment stylehousing is the biggest change she has seen in Sac State’sresidential life since she became the director in 1987.

“We are rebuilding to fit the needs oftoday’s students’ contemporary lifestyle.”

Currently, there are less than 1,100 studentshoused in the dorms. The apartment style dorms would house up to4,000-5,000 of students.