Policy 6-406: Special Student Course Fees and Other Assessments

Purpose and Scope
Definitions
Policy
Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources
References
Contacts
History

‌Purpose and Scope‌
1. Purpose.
  
  To promote transparency and accountability in the handling of special course fees and other assessments.
2. Scope.
  
  This Policy applies to all credit-bearing course-offering academic units of the University (as are described in Policy 6-001)
‌Definitions‌

The following definitions apply for the limited purposes of this policy and any associated regulations.
1. Breakage Fee: Amount deposited by a student enrolled in a laboratory or other course that employs specialized equipment to create a minimal reserve from which damaged or lost equipment may be repaired or repurchased.
2. Course-offering unit: An academic department, college, or other unit of the University authorized to offer a credit-bearing course, as more fully described in Policies 6-001 and 6-100.
3. Key Deposit: A deposit made by a student to whom a key is issued in accord with University Regulations regarding keys (Rule 3-234A), subject to refund upon return of the key by the student.
4. Private Instruction Fee: Fee collected from a student and used to compensate instructors for individualized private instruction necessary to the development of personal performance skills or artistic competencies.
5. Special Course Fee: Fee or charge that is imposed to offset unfunded costs associated with an individual course offered either on or off campus or using other modalities, including: use of special software, nontraditional instructional systems; access to and use of technical instruments and equipment; and/or use of consumable laboratory or other instructional materials. (See below for guidelines about how such fees can and cannot be used.)
6. Special Program Fee: Fee or charge that is imposed to offset unfunded costs for services associated with a specialized educational program. (See below for guidelines about how such fees can and cannot be used.).
‌Policy‌
1. ‌Approval Authority.‌
  1. Authorization required. No course-offering unit may impose or collect any special course fee, special program fee, private instruction fee, breakage fee, key deposit, or other special assessment except as approved and processed pursuant to this Policy.
  2. Special Fee Review Committee.
    1. The University Special Fee Review Committee (“Special Fee Committee”) is hereby established. Its membership shall consist of: (i) the current members of the University Curriculum Policy Review Board (as established by Policy 6-500); (ii) one representative each from the office of the Associate Vice President for Budget & Planning and the Vice President for Student Affairs; and (iii) four students appointed by designated Colleges on a rotating basis. See guidelines for a description of the rotation schedule. The chairperson of the Curriculum Policy Review Board will serve as chairperson of the Committee.
      
      The Committee will convene each semester or as directed by the chairperson, and it will report annually to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Senior Vice President of Health Sciences.
    2. The Committee will serve as the University body to review and to approve or disapprove all requests for special course fees submitted by course- offering units.
      
      The Committee is authorized to approve and to adjust the amount of previously approved key deposits, breakage fees, special course fees, and private instruction fees based on the itemized budget and its justification.
      
      With regard to special program fees, the Committee will review new requests and renewals of special program fees and make recommendations regarding them to the University Budget Advisory Committee.
2. ‌Special Course Fees and Special Program Fees.‌
  1. A proposal to impose any new special course fee or special program fee, or to increase any such existing fee must be approved by the appropriate curriculum committee, and the cognizant dean, and then submitted to the Special Fee Committee. The proposal must include an itemized budget, including a description of how this request relates to other sources of funding such as program fees, differential tuition and revenue from designated Community Engaged Learning courses, and a rationale for that budget based on the learning outcomes of the course or program.
  2. Periodic Reviews of Fees.
    
    All existing special course fees, private instruction fees, special program fees and key deposits shall be reviewed periodically, ordinarily on a three-year cycle (with a staggered review schedule for various colleges to be arranged by the Special Fee Committee in consultation with the colleges). The review shall consider whether each existing fee should be discontinued, renewed at the same amount, renewed at a decreased or increased amount, or otherwise modified. For such review, each college (or equivalent) will submit a report to the Special Fee Committee, describing all existing special course, private instruction, special program fees or key deposits of the course-offering units within the college. The report shall include a detailed description of the existing fees (including the amount of each fee, the number of students who have paid each fee, and the overall revenue received from such fees), and a statement of how the fee revenues have actually been used by the unit. For each such reviewed fee, the report shall include a proposal to discontinue the fee, renew it at the existing amount, or renew it at a decreased or increased amount. (Any such proposal to increase a fee must be approved by the appropriate curriculum committee and cognizant dean prior to submission of the report to the Committee).
    
    After reviewing these periodic reports, the Special Fee Committee will make the final determination about any proposals regarding any special course fees, private instruction fees or key deposits. For proposals regarding special program fees, the Committee will make recommendations for consideration by the University Budget Advisory Committee.
  3. General Policy Guidelines for Special Course Fees.
    1. Income from special course fees is restricted to specific course costs and may not be used to augment general categories of departmental budgets, i.e., supplies and equipment, travel, salaries or computing costs, and may not be deposited into gift activities (Fund 6000)
    2. Special course fees may be approved for:
      1. Consumable Instructional Materials such as the following: lab or studio supplies, breakage, photo lab materials, films, chemicals, electronic kits.
      2. Use of Specialized Facilities such as the following: key deposits, darkrooms, practice rooms, special equipment, studios and laboratories.
      3. Instructional Materials & Services such as the following: film and tapes, private instruction, etc.
      4. Curriculum Enhancement such as the following: field trips, trail fees, leadership seminars.
      5. Other Specialized Services such as testing and exam fees.
  4. General Policy Guidelines for Special Program Fees.
    
    Income from special program fees may be used for the sole purpose of offsetting the cost of providing those services specified in the approved proposal. Special program fees cannot be used for salaries for instructional personnel.
  5. Any special course fee or special program fee approved pursuant to this Policy must be paid directly to the University Income Accounting or designated representative.
  6. All approved special course fees and special program fees are due at the time that tuition is due.
3. ‌Private Instruction Fees.‌
  1. A proposal to impose or increase a private instruction fee must follow the guidelines detailed in III.B.1. above
  2. Periodic reviews of private instruction fees will be included in the three year reports described in III.B.2. above.
  3. Approved fees for private instruction must be paid to the University Income Accounting.
4. ‌Breakage Fees.‌
  1. A proposal to impose or increase a breakage fee must follow the guidelines detailed in III.B.1. above
  2. Periodic reviews of breakage fees will be included in the three year reports described in III.B.2. above.
  3. Approved fees for private instruction must be paid to the University Income Accounting.
5. ‌Key Deposits.‌
  1. Keys may be issued to individuals for access to rooms within buildings after payment of an approved key deposit to the University Cashier. Issuance of keys for access to buildings and rooms is governed by the University Regulations regarding keys (Rule 3-234A).
  2. The amount of deposit will be set by the Special Course Fee Committee.
  3. The key will be issued by the department to the individual on presentation of the deposit receipt. The department will retain the receipt until such time as the individual returns the key.
  4. Upon surrender of the key, the department returns the receipt to the individual, who may present the deposit receipt to the University cashier for refund of the deposit.
6. ‌Fee Notification.‌
  1. The course-offering unit shall notify students in advance of any approved special course fee, special program fee, private instruction fee or key deposit. Notice shall be given by including a description of the fee or deposit in the published Class Schedule.
  2. Special program fees, including their due dates, must be published in materials related to that service, e.g., marketing, recruiting, application, and program materials. Such publication constitutes advance notice of the special fee requirement.
  3. Deadlines for submitting Special Course Fee and Special Program Fees will be set by the Special Fee Committee.
  4. Any fee approved after the course schedule has been published will not be implemented until the following semester.
7. ‌Exceptions.‌
  
  The University President, on recommendation of the cognizant vice president, may approve specific exceptions to this Policy.
8. ‌Annual Report.‌
  1. A report of all special fees and deposits approved under this Policy shall be submitted annually to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences.
    
    Sections IV- VII are for user information and are not subject to the approval of the Academic Senate or the Board of Trustees. The Institutional Policy Committee, the Policy Owner, or the Policy Officer may update these sections at any time.
‌Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources‌
1. Policies/ Rules. [ reserved ]
2. Procedures, Guidelines, and Forms. [ reserved ]
3. Other Related Resources. [ reserved ]
‌References‌
1. Rule R4-324A: Building Access and Surveillance Systems
2. Policy 6-500: Curriculum Administration
‌Contacts‌

The designated contact officials for this Regulation are
1. Policy Owner(s) (primary contact person for questions and advice): Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
2. Policy Officer(s): Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
  
  See Rule 1-001 for information about the roles and authority of policy owners and policy officers.
‌History‌

Revision History.
1. Current version. Revision 8.
  1. Approved by -- Academic Senate April 30, 2018, and Board of Trustees May 8, 2018, with effective date of May 8, 2018.
  2. Legislative History
  3. Editorial Revisions
    1. Editorially revised April 4, 2024 to move to current regulations template.
2. Previous versions.
  1. Revision 7. Effective Date. October 10, 2017
    1. Legislative History for Revision 7.
  2. Revision 6. Effective Date. October 11, 2005
  3. Revision 5. Effective Date. August 13, 2001
  4. Revision 4. Effective Date. September 11, 2000
  5. Revision 3. Effective Date. November 10, 1997
3. Renumbering
  1. Renumbered from Policy and Procedures Manual 3-8

Revision 8. Effective Date: May 8, 2018

View PDF