U-Pass, Finally at NEIU

The U-Pass received a startling amount of support in fall of 2010 for the SGA student referendum, and in spring 2011, the Board of Trustees (BOT) put a halt on the passing of the FY2011 budget thus putting a halt on the passing of U-Pass. However, on April 20, the BOT held an emergency meeting and at 4:10 p.m., just ten minutes into the meeting, the BOT unanimously passed the financing of the U-Pass and thus enacting it for fall 2011. As for why an emergency meeting was called, President Hahs and BOT Chair Carlos Azcoitia, stated that if they didn't pass it soon then the U-Pass wouldn't have been implemented for fall of 2011 but spring of 2012. So, they quickly and effortlessly nipped it in the bud. Now, students may be wondering what all of this means for them in the upcoming year. First of all, each student will be charged an extra $102 per semester and the fee will appear just as the student green fee appears on the tuition and fee chart.

Now, although it has been passed, not all students will gain access to the U-Pass. According to the CTA regulations you have to be a full time student at the accredited university to utilize the U-Pass. This means all full time undergraduates as well as graduate students, can use the U-Pass during the semester, as well as five days before a semester begins and five days after the semester ends. At the moment, it has been implemented for the fall semester, which means that in a matter of months, bus riders will no longer have to shell out $80, or more, for a monthly pass, but can pocket that money and use it on coffee, or maybe even a textbook.