The student body fee will officially rise from $24 to $45 next semester, following approval from the Board of Trustees last Thursday night, Student Body President Marlon Figueroa said.

The proposal to increase the fee was initiated by the Student Government Association’s Executive Cabinet, made up of the president, vice president, treasurer and Programming Council chair.

The House of Student Representatives voted on it March 23 and the student body on April 1.

It received the required majority vote with 199 students – about 56 percent of the total 353 voters.

With the student body approval, the cabinet still had to present the proposal to the Board of Trustees for approval, which it received Thursday night.

The student body fee is collected each semester from undergraduate students who are enrolled in at least nine hours at the university, about 7,000 students, in order to fund the SGA budget.

It has not been increased since fall 2006, before students were required to live on campus for two years.

Major changes in the budget include increased funding for Programming Council events like Howdy Week, Homecoming, Family Weekend and the concert each fall semester. The concert will be allocated $150,000 after the fee increase.

It will also add $30,000 per year to the Activities Funding Board’s budget, which is currently $70,000 a year and provides funding for student organizations and sport clubs, according to the SGA Web site.