2008 Woodie Awards
Music service draining student activities fee
Ben Salkowe
Issue date: 2/24/05 Section: Center Spread
Next year it is expected that the SGA will have to pay the full costs of the program, meaning the SAF may need to be raised once again, or other programs funded by the fee may have to be cut. None of the students or administrators interviewed would provide firm details of the program's cost next year, however Jacobi estimated it was "likely" that "we would pay around $20,000 next year since some PC users won't register and we already have enough iTunes vouchers from this year for Mac users."
Napster cracks down on leaks
Most of the students at colleges across the country where Napster has been implemented are also kept in the dark about how much the program costs - intentionally. When Ohio University surveyed its students about a possible Napster program last year, the administrators did mention the costs of the program - which were similar to Middlebury's. Napster quickly contacted the institution and told them to stop disclosing its fees.
"They did not present us with a nondisclosure agreement when we began negotiating with them, nor did they ask informally that we keep the details confidential," Sean O'Malley, Ohio University's IT communications manager, told The Campus. "Thus, we thought we were fine in releasing our numbers."
Ohio University proposed offering the service by only billing students who used it, rather than taking it from a required fee which all students pay. "Fee and tuition increases are a major issue with Ohio students, so we did not wish to add yet another mandatory fee to the students' bills," said O'Malley.
O'Malley said the survey of students was not overwhelmingly positive, and only half of the students responding said they would subscribed to such a Napster service. Ultimately, Ohio chose to partner with Cdigix, one of Napster's competitors.
"Cdigix offered much better terms than Napster and also seemed to have a better handle on the college marketplace. The availability of movies through their service was a definite plus," said O'Malley. He added that students have been happy with the program and they plan to continue offering it next year.
Napster cracks down on leaks
Most of the students at colleges across the country where Napster has been implemented are also kept in the dark about how much the program costs - intentionally. When Ohio University surveyed its students about a possible Napster program last year, the administrators did mention the costs of the program - which were similar to Middlebury's. Napster quickly contacted the institution and told them to stop disclosing its fees.
"They did not present us with a nondisclosure agreement when we began negotiating with them, nor did they ask informally that we keep the details confidential," Sean O'Malley, Ohio University's IT communications manager, told The Campus. "Thus, we thought we were fine in releasing our numbers."
Ohio University proposed offering the service by only billing students who used it, rather than taking it from a required fee which all students pay. "Fee and tuition increases are a major issue with Ohio students, so we did not wish to add yet another mandatory fee to the students' bills," said O'Malley.
O'Malley said the survey of students was not overwhelmingly positive, and only half of the students responding said they would subscribed to such a Napster service. Ultimately, Ohio chose to partner with Cdigix, one of Napster's competitors.
"Cdigix offered much better terms than Napster and also seemed to have a better handle on the college marketplace. The availability of movies through their service was a definite plus," said O'Malley. He added that students have been happy with the program and they plan to continue offering it next year.