Students to be charged a fee before graduating

By Brandon Scalea

While seniors are starting to plan their lives after graduation, they’ll have to do so with slightly emptier pockets.

For the first time, the application to graduate includes an $85 fee. Students have demanded the reasoning behind this.

According to university spokeswoman Kristine Brown, Rider has discussed the possibility of a fee for years, and finally decided to implement it for the class of 2018. Many other universities charge upwards of $200 to graduate and sometimes also require students to pay for their cap and gown, Brown said.

The fee will help offset costs of graduation application processing, diploma processing and “academic attire,” which includes cap and gown, Brown said.

She also stressed that the fee has nothing to do with the decision to move commencement off campus to CURE Insurance Arena (formerly the Sun National Bank Center) in Trenton. It actually costs less to do that than to have the ceremony on campus, Brown said.

The $85 fee will be charged to every graduate regardless of whether they choose to participate in the ceremony.