Many students at The University of Memphis do not utilize, or in some cases even know about, many of the programs that they already pay for with their tuition dollars.
This is especially true with incoming freshmen, but some students who have been here a number of years let opportunities pass them by simply because they are unaware of them.
“I didn’t even know we got free tickets to football games,” said recent U of M business graduate Ann Marie Luchessi.
Technically those tickets aren’t free. You paid for them as part of your student activity fee. This fee, which amounts to $44 per semester for full-time students, is used for a variety of student scholarships, programming, organizations and to supplement the Student Government Association.
Free tickets to all school sporting events, free entry to the campus art museum, and free tickets to campus plays and musical shows are available to students, as well as discounted tickets to Malco movies, Ballet Memphis performances and shows at the Orpheum Theatre and other Memphis theatrical venues.
This fee also provides students membership at the Student Recreation and Fitness Center. The center houses a weight room and swimming pool, as well as basketball, racquetball and tennis courts. Admission is free to all full-time students and $3 per visit for part-time students.
“I had never been inside the rec center until my junior year,” said senior education major Jason Edwards. “A buddy of mine had invited me to play basketball there, and I was like, ‘Why am I paying for membership at a health club when I can come here for free?’”
Fitness testing, massage therapy, personal training and a variety of group classes and aerobics are also offered at the facility.
If you need help of a less physical nature, you should seek out the Center for Counseling, Learning and Testing located in Wilder Tower.
Formerly known as the Center for Student Development, the center provides career exploration, educational enhancement, assessment services and psychological counseling.
“If you’re a student, we can help,” said center worker Lorna Horishny.
The Career Counseling Unit provides free individualized counseling services and features an internet career exploration program called DISCOVER.
The Educational Support Program provides all students with help for any class, and the Psychological Counseling Unit offers free individual, couples, family and group counseling services to any student registered for at least six credit hours.
Counseling services are also provided by the Psychological Services Center in the Psychology Building.
“Our program here compliments those services offered at the Student Development Center,” said James Whelan, director of clinical training. “We have several doctoral students working with our program, and we offer services to both students and the public for a nominal fee.”
If you get sick during the school year, be sure to check out The U of M Student Health Services available at the Hudson Health Center. Students are not charged an office visit fee, and most routine diagnostic and laboratory analyses required for treatment are free. Students are charged only for certain tests that have to be sent off campus, vaccinations and medication. There is also an on-site dispensary where prescription and over-the-counter drugs can be purchased at a reduced cost.
“I was really sick my senior year and went to the health center to get my prescription filled,” said Luchessi. “I needed three different antibiotics, but it only cost me $35. I’m sure it would have been much more expensive at the pharmacy, and I realized that I could have been going there for my allergy medicine for years. I don’t even want to think about how much money I probably would have saved.”
