Previously announced Aug. 6, Delta will be charging a health fee for students starting this Fall semester. Delta also announced earlier last May that they would no longer offer free parking, and charge parking fees starting the Fall semester.
The student health fee is a completely new policy for Delta, complying with section 76355 of the 2023 California Education Code. The parking fees were reintroduced from years prior to 2020, when Delta had to remove parking fees to accommodate for the COVID-19 lockdown.
The student health fee costs $26 this Fall semester, adjusted from the California Education Code’s maximum $10 a semester, to accommodate for every percent increase in inflation equal to $1 according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchase of Goods and Services. All credit-enrolled students must pay the health fee, regardless of if they are an in-person or online learner or if they use Delta’s health and wellness services or not. An exception is made for high school students enrolled at Delta, students with religious restrictions on medicine and healing and students under an approved apprenticeship training program.
A daily parking permit costs $2 and is available via dispenser at every Delta parking lot except for lots Locke-2, Budd-3, Cunn-3 and Cunn-4. Delta charges the same for this Fall semester as previous years: $30 for the spring and fall semester permit or $24 for only two-wheeled vehicles, while charging $20 for the summer semester permit or $16 for only two-wheeled vehicles. Semester permits can only be paid for online, unlike previous years where it could be bought at the Bookstore.
“Usually, I just carpool. I either carpool with a friend or get one of my family members to drop me off, because it can be a struggle to come here on my own and then park, especially for an extended period of time. The fees just keep accumulating, so often times I just ask a family member or a friend to go ahead and accommodate me with that,” said Paulina Muñoz, a student at Delta.
These two fees were meant to accommodate for the incoming traffic at Delta. By Aug. 10, 19,851 students enrolled for the 2024 Fall semester compared to 16,570 students for the 2023 semester, more than a 20 percent increase. Since there has been an influx of freshmen who have came to Delta from a fully post-COVID 19-lockdown high school graduation, the Fall semester has been rather busy thus far for Delta.
The student health fee attempts to raise additional funding for health and wellness services such as healthcare, substance abuse support and mental health counseling. The parking fees will go to fund maintenance on the infrastructure of Delta’s parking lots. Delta has previously received multiple complaints about the parking lots, namely potholes and lighting.
“There are lots of barriers of course to parking. There are lots of potholes, there are weird entrances to get into classes which can make it difficult to find parking, especially when you’re on a time crunch. And there tends to be a lot of traffic build-up as well, especially near DeRicco in the mornings, so that’s also another concern,” Muñoz said.
Student reactions to the health and parking fees have been mixed. Some understand why the new fees were implemented and can accept the cost. They may also find that the expenses themselves are rather affordable.
“I know about the prices, but it’s like $5 [sic] when you park. I don’t think it’s that bad, but I feel like paying the whole fee can be the best thing to do. And the whole fee isn’t that bad either, instead of having to pay like everyday you go to school. So the new fee system is fine, it’s not bad,” said Malik Monroe, a student at Delta. The daily parking permit is $2.
Others feel that the fees are unwarranted, since they were not charged the previous semesters since the 2020 lockdown. Students may feel that the fees are unnecessary, since not all students drive and not all students need Delta’s health and wellness services, or are covered by insurance outside of Delta.
“I understand it but I don’t like it. I mean, I paid for one, I got my permit, but ideally I wouldn’t have to pay for parking especially because there’s plenty of open spaces,” said Ashley Welch, a student at Delta.
Others complain that the health and parking fees are a financial barrier, and make their respective services inaccessible.
“I was just using the counseling services recently, my daughter passed away May 10 of fentanyl overdose, and I need a therapist to talk to because I’m still grieving. But having that fee just kind of stopped me from using it, because I don’t have the money to pay for that, and I’m still struggling with her gone,” said Shawna Swager, a student at Delta. “I’m very upset with financial aid, I did show them that I was homeless at the time and they totally denied me, so I’m really upset with that right now. So I don’t know what to do, at the time right now, I’m going through grieving and so I can’t really afford some of my classes and it’s piling up on my school expenses. It’s hard right now.”
