AU's enrollment office expanded the use of an application fee this summer for all future prospective students.
The new $60 fee applies to students who apply on the Internet as well as to students who use a paper application. The decision to instate the fee on the application ends a period of about six years during which prospective students could apply to the university for free online. The use of an online application fee is not a new concept, according to Sharon Alston, interim assistant provost for Enrollment.
"Traditionally, AU has always assessed a fee for the undergraduate admissions application," she said in an e-mail.
The Office of Enrollment originally waived the fee to encourage prospective students to use "newer, developing technology," but decided to end the waiver after considering the practices of other universities and deciding it was no longer necessary. More than 95 percent of applying students used an electronic form last year, she said in the e-mail.
Some students have had negative reaction to the news.
"I wouldn't have applied here if it hadn't been free," said Rebekah Smith, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Adrienne Vollmer, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said she thinks the fee is absurd.
"I think it may discourage people who are good for the school from applying," she said.
Alston said she knows the fee might have an impact on applicants.
"We do anticipate that our pool of applicants will be more serious about their interest in seeking admission to AU," she said in the e-mail.
AU's fee is less than the online application fees of George Washington University and Georgetown University, both of which charge $65, according to the universities' Web sites. The University of Maryland charges a $55 application fee.
The Office of Enrollment made the recommendation to instate the fee last spring, and Provost Scott Bass approved it before July 1.
Fee waivers are available for prospective students who have difficulty paying the fee, Alston said in the e-mail.
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