Because Media Technology Services does not receive enough funding from the University to cover its costs, student groups and academic departments looking to host events are often charged fees for equipment and salary costs.
Events tied to specific classes are not charged fees, so the money Media Services receives from non-academic events must compensate for those costs, said Stephanie Obodda, assistant manager for computer education and communication.
But Computing and Information Services is proposing plans to "at least reduce these fees, if not eliminate them," Obodda said. "We don't have a concrete timeline on it because it is so dependent on University funding."
Media Services was incorporated into CIS last year as a "charge-back" organization because it has to cover its own operating costs, Obodda said.
To put on events, student groups must go through the Scheduling Office, the Student Activities Office, Media Services and the Department of Facilities Management and pay the fees for use of Media Services equipment.
Under its current structure, fees are charged on a three-tiered price structure based on the level of University involvement in the activity.
Tier 1 pricing is for events specifically related to for-credit courses at the University. Events sponsored by a University-affiliated organization and attended primarily by Brown community members are given Tier 2 pricing, at 50 percent of Tier 3 charges. The only events that pay full price for Media Services are sponsored by organizations not affiliated with the University, or target an audience external to the University.
Certain events put on by Category III student groups — who receive the highest levels of funding from the University — can use Media Services without a charge, and event costs are paid for through a special fund set aside by the SAO.
Sarah Alexandra Levy '12, co-director of the Israeli Film Festival of College Hill, said that Media Services fees were "a huge part" of the festival's budget, adding that she wondered why Media Services was not funded by the University.
While the fees themselves were not an inhibiting factor for the continuation of the Israeli Film Festival, Levy said, they are indicative of a larger problem for student groups wanting to plan events on campus. Coordinating the festival was "like a full-time job," she said.
