RALEIGH — February 3, 1996, 10:55 am, EST

Excluding engineering majors, students at North Carolina State University pay $784 in fees for various academic and non-academic programs. That figure would move to $816 -- a rise of $32 -- for fall classes, if trustees approve recommendations from various committees.

And one of those recommended assessments is $5 per student to help defray costs of renovating Carter-Finley stadium, the 1960s-era venue where the university's football games are played. The athletics department initially had requested that students pay $15 each, but a trustees committee reduced that figure.

Student leaders, however, are not happy with either amount, citing a recent $400 tuition hike and other proposed increases in student fees. NCSU student body president John O'Quinn said the athletics department is reneging on a promise that stadium improvements would be funded by alumni donations.

"I think they are just trying to get us to pay for the stadium renovations in order to free up more alumni money for the basketball arena," O'Quinn said.

According to Athletics Director Todd Turner, his department is looking for an additional funding source for badly needed Carter-Finley improvements, many of which Turner said are required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Thomas Stafford, NCSU vice chancellor for student affairs, said all departments had been instructed to hold student fee increases to no more than 5 percent of current fees. "The athletic department's request went way beyond that guideline," he said.

NCSU students now pay $66 per year to help fund intercollegiate athletics; the requested $15 increase would have been a 23 percent hike.

Other fee increases set to be recommended to the full board include a $3 rise for publications; $2 more for physical education; $7 more for health services; and a $5 hike in student center fees. And another sub-committee has recommended that non-engineering students pay an additional $10 in technology fees next year.

Traditionally the NCSU Board of Governors has accepted the recommendations of its committees.