The University of Maryland will not institute a controversial, mandatory University Health Center fee for the 2026 academic year, according to an email sent Friday to student leaders from the University Budget Office.
University leaders voted on the proposed fee in a presidential cabinet meeting Feb. 11, The Diamondback previously reported. Under the proposal, full-time students at this university would pay $136 and part-time students would pay $68 for the 2026 academic year, according to university documents.
Many graduate students criticized the proposal, citing that their wages would not cover the fee and their limited use of the health center would not justify the cost, The Diamondback reported Feb. 12.
[UMD graduate students criticize proposed health center fee]
Since the 2022-23 academic year, the health center fee has been incorporated in student tuition, which allows some graduate students to cover the fee through tuition remission from their assistantship or fellowship, according to this university’s graduate school’s website. The proposal would have changed the fee to be mandatory separate from tuition, The Diamondback reported.
The proposed fee would have allowed the health center to balance its budget and create a $500,000 reserve, according to the proposal. The fee would have also replaced insurance billing and student co-pays for health center visits for some services, the proposal states.
