What is PASA?
The Performing Arts Support and Access fee (PASA) supports Music, Dance, and Theatre, Film, and Digital Production at UCR.
For an increase of less than $10 per quarter, your student services fees keep ALL UC Riverside performances accessible to all current students at no additional cost.
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Learn more about PASA
Since 2012, the campus has levied the SSTAP fee of $2.50 that goes to support performances produced by the Department of Theatre, Film and Digital Production. While the revenue of this student fee supports the department’s productions, the fee has not kept up with the cost of theatrical productions.
This proposal seeks to provide stable, predictable funding for performing arts programming in dance, music, theater, and digital production.
The PASA Fee would begin Fall Quarter 2025 and would replace the current Subsidized Student Theater Admission Plan fee for a net fee increase of $9.50 per quarter. If this referendum is not passed, the status quo, including the $2.50 SSTAP fee, will remain in place. The existing SSTAP fee has not been cost adjusted and no longer covers the original intention of the fee even for theater production. The proposed PASA fee restores the original capacity to theater and expands it to include film, digital production, dance and music. If the PASA fee is not approved the capacity to provide theater productions will continue to deteriorate and dance and music productions will either continue to be accessible only through ticket purchase or currently free events may require tickets in the future.
Replacing the existing fee with a more inclusive fee in support of all of the performing arts will ensure that UCR students have access to and can benefit from the educational, artistic, and cultural enrichment opportunities that a robust research university performing arts program should provide.
Use of the Funds Generated by the Fee: Use of the funds generated by the fee will provide specific areas of support to all three departments collectively for collaborative work and to each department individually for department-specific work. The main benefit to students is access – via allocations of tickets at no additional cost – to the performances and events produced and sponsored by the Departments of Dance; Music; and Theatre, Film, and Digital Production. The size of the student ticket allocation may vary depending on the nature of the event. For some events, a significant portion of the venue capacity (at least 25%) will be included in the allocation of free student tickets, while some tickets may be made available for sale to the campus community and general public. For other events, the allocation will include 100 percent of the venue capacity or admission will be granted upon presentation of a valid student ID. Across all three departments, the referendum will provide increased opportunities for all students to access high-caliber performances.
Per campus policy, 25% of the fee will be returned to financial aid to offset the cost of the fee for students eligible to receive financial aid. Revenue generated by the fee will also cover the UCOP funding streams assessment cost.
If this referendum does not pass, the status quo, including the SSTAP fee, will remain in effect.
Review the full proposal with additional background information by clicking on the button below.