Policy 6-406: Special Course and Special Program Fees

1. Approval Authority
2. Special Fee Review Committee
3. Application and Process for Creating or Revising Special Fees or Assessments
4. Periodic Review of Special Fees or Assessments
5. Allowable Uses for Special Fees and Assessments
6. Accounting of Special Fees or Assessments
7. Key Deposits
8. Notification
9. Reporting

Purpose and Scope‌

1. Purpose.

   This policy establishes requirements related to creating, reviewing, revising, and repealing Special Course and Special Program Fees, and other Assessments, in accordance with Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R517.

2. Scope.

   This policy applies to all course-offering academic units of the university (as are described in Policy 6-001) and the programs and credit-bearing courses in which Board of Higher Education-approved tuition is charged. This policy does not apply to general student fees, which are governed by Policy 6-407.

‌Definitions‌

1. “Course-offering Unit” means an academic department, college, or other unit of the university authorized to offer a credit-bearing course, as described in Policies 6-001 and 6-100.

2. “Key Deposit” means a fee collected from a student to whom a key is issued in accordance with Rule R3-234A, subject to refund upon return of the key.

3. “Special Course Fee” means a fee or charge that is imposed to offset unfunded costs associated with an individual credit-bearing course that is offered either on or off campus or using any other modality. The fee may only offset costs allowed under this policy.

   1. Private Instruction Fees and Breakage Fees are specific types of Special Course Fees and require the same approval process as all other Special Course Fees.

      1. Private Instruction means individualized teaching necessary to the development of personal performance skills or artistic competencies.

      2. Breakage Fee means a charge for 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.

4. “Special Fee or Assessment” means a Special Course Fee, Special Program Fee, or Key Deposit.

5. “Special Program Fee” means a fee or charge that is imposed to offset unfunded costs for services associated with a specialized educational program. The fee may only offset costs allowed under this policy.

   1. A seat fee or seating fee is a specific type of Special Program Fee and requires the same approval process as other Special Program Fees. A seat fee is a fee that is collected from a student after the student is accepted into a program to hold a place for the student in that program.

‌Policy‌

1. ‌Approval Authority‌

   1. A Course-offering Unit may not impose or collect a Special Fee or Assessment, except as approved and processed pursuant to this policy.

   2. The Special Fee Review Committee serves as the body to review all requests for creating, reviewing, revising, and repealing a Special Fee or Assessment, and provides recommendations to the cognizant senior vice president and the Board of Trustees.

   3. The Board of Trustees has the final authority to approve or adjust a Special Fee or Assessment. The Board of Trustees shall review recommendations, at least annually, from the Special Fee Review Committee to create, revise, or repeal Special Fees or Assessments.

2. ‌Special Fee Review Committee‌

   1. The university Special Fee Review Committee (“Special Fee Committee”) is established to review and recommend actions regarding Special Fees or Assessments. The membership shall consist of:

      1. the current members of the University Curriculum Policy Review Board established by Policy 6-500;

      2. one representative from the Office of the Associate Vice President for Budget & Finance in the Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs;

      3. one representative from the Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Science;

      4. one representative from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs; and

      5. four students appointed by designated colleges on a rotating basis (see guidelines for a description of the rotation schedule).

   2. The chairperson of the Curriculum Policy Review Board shall serve as chairperson of the Special Fee Committee.

   3. The Special Fee Committee shall convene each semester, or as directed by the chairperson, so that the timing ensures final decisions on Special Fees or Assessments are made in time to be compliant with required reporting and notification to applicable departments and students for upcoming semesters.

3. ‌Application and Process for Creating or Revising Special Fees or Assessments‌

   1. Before submitting a proposal to create, revise, or repeal a Special Fee or Assessment to the Special Fee Committee, a Course-offering Unit shall submit the proposal to the appropriate curriculum committee and cognizant dean for review.

   2. A proposal for a new or revised Special Fee or Assessment shall include:

      1. an itemized budget, including a description of how the request relates to other sources of funding or revenue, such as differential tuition;

      2. for a revised Special Fee, an accounting of how the fee income has been used, and any carryforward balance in the fee activity;

      3. justification and documented rationale showing that the Special Fee or Assessment is connected to learning outcomes of the course or program; and

      4. whether different sections of the course will have different fee amounts, and if so, a justification for the difference.

   3. If the proposal is to repeal the Special Fee or Assessment, the Course- offering Unit is not required to submit the details described in Section III.C.2.

   4. In considering a new or revised Special Fee or Assessment, the Special Fee Committee shall analyze the required items submitted to determine if the fee is an allowable fee under this policy, and whether there is financial justification for the Special Fee or Assessment.

   5. The Special Fee Committee shall submit recommendations on new or revised Special Fees or Assessments to the cognizant senior vice president, before the recommendation goes to the Board of Trustees for approval.

4. ‌Periodic Review of Special Fees or Assessments‌

   1. The Special Fee Committee shall review all existing Special Fees or Assessments on a rotating schedule so that each fee is reviewed at least every three years. The Special Fee Committee shall establish the staggered review cycle in consultation with colleges.

   2. A Course-offering Unit shall provide to the Special Fee Committee for purposes of the periodic review:

      1. a list of all Special Fees and Assessments that the Course-offering Unit charges;

      2. detailed accounting reports on each Special Fee or Assessment, including:

         1. the fee amount;

         2. the number of students who have paid the fee;

         3. the total income collected from the fee;

         4. a detailed accounting of how the fee income has been used by the Course-offering Unit;

         5. whether different sections of the course have different fee amounts, and if so, a justification for the difference; and

         6. a three-year history of any carryforward balance on the fee activity;

      3. justification and documented rationale showing that the fee is connected to learning outcomes of the course or program; and

      4. a proposal on whether the fee should be repealed, renewed at the existing amount, or revised to a new amount.

   3. A proposal to increase a Special Fee or Assessment must be reviewed by the appropriate curriculum committee and cognizant dean prior to consideration of the Special Fee Committee.

   4. In reviewing an existing fee, the Special Fee Committee shall analyze the required items submitted and analyze whether the fee, or a requested revision, is reasonably based on allowable costs not covered by tuition.

   5. The Special Fee Committee shall submit recommendations on repeal, renewal, or revisions of Special Fees or Assessments to the cognizant senior vice president, before the recommendation goes to the Board of Trustees for approval.

5. ‌Allowable Uses for Special Fees and Assessments‌

   1. A Course-offering Unit may use income from Special Fees and Assessments only to offset unfunded course or program costs that are not covered by Board-approved tuition.

   2. Income from Special Fees and Assessments may be used for allowable costs under this policy and Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R517, including costs for:

      1. consumable instructional materials such as chemicals and other lab supplies, studio supplies, replacement and breakage recovery, or electronic kits;

      2. specialized instructional materials such as film, and limited instructional services such as private music instruction;

      3. use of specialized equipment or facilities such as darkrooms, practice rooms, studios, or laboratories;

      4. curriculum enhancement that is tied to a specified learning outcome, such as field trips, musical accompaniment, trail fees, or leadership seminars; and

      5. other specialized services such as testing and exam fees.

   3. Income from a Special Fee or Assessment may only be used for offsetting the costs incurred in the course or program, as outlined in the approved proposal.

   4. Special Fees or Assessments may not be used for salaries of instructional personnel, except as allowed in Utah Board of Higher Education Policy R517.

6. ‌Accounting of Special Fees or Assessments‌

   1. A Course-offering Unit that collects a Special Fee or Assessment shall account for the income separately so that the unit can isolate and report on how fee income is used.

   2. Special Fee income is restricted to specific course or program costs. The Course-offering Unit may not use the income from Special Fees and Assessments to augment general categories of departmental budgets, such as supplies and equipment, travel, salaries, or computing costs.

   3. Income from Special Fees or Assessments is considered part of tuition and state fees and must be deposited into activities that are tied to state fund types. Special Fees or Assessments are subject to the same restrictions and regulations as other state monies.

   4. Income Accounting shall ensure that applicable Special Fees or Assessments are included on a student’s tuition bill.

   5. The Special Fee Committee shall coordinate with Income Accounting to ensure that the necessary information is submitted in a timely manner for tuition billing.

   6. In general, Special Course or Program Fee revenue should be expended during the academic period in which the students who paid the fees are enrolled in the course or program. There may be reasonable exceptions as to having a carryforward balance for a particular fee, such as saving for equipment replacement over a longer period of time or for a maintenance service agreement that is utilized after several years. The Special Fee Committee shall consider these scenarios in their review and recommendations.

7. ‌Key Deposits‌

   1. Access to buildings and rooms and key issuance is governed by Rule R3- 234A.

   2. If a student is approved to be issued a key, the student shall pay a Key Deposit amount to the university cashier and present the receipt to the department for the department to issue the key.

   3. The department shall retain the receipt until the student returns the key.

   4. Upon return of the key, the department shall return the receipt to the student, who may present the deposit receipt to the university cashier for a refund of the deposit.

   5. The Special Fee Committee shall recommend the amount of a key deposit for final approval by the Board of Trustees.

8. ‌Notification‌

   1. The Special Fee Committee shall include all active Special Course Fees in the class schedule and the catalogue to give students notice.

   2. A Course-offering Unit shall publish any Special Program Fees, including due dates, in material related to the program, such as marketing, recruiting, application, or other program materials.

   3. The Special Fee Committee shall establish submission deadlines for all Special Fees or Assessments.

   4. A Special Fee or Assessment that is approved after the course schedule has been published may not be implemented until the following semester.

9. ‌Reporting‌

   The Special Fee Committee shall annually report on all Special Fees and Assessments approved under this policy to the Senior Vice president for Academic Affairs and the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences.

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   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.

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‌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. Board of Higher Education Policy R517, Course and Program Fees

2. Board of Higher Education Policy R510, Tuition

3. Rule R3-324A: Building Access and Surveillance Systems

4. Policy 6-001: Academic Units and Academic Governance - Roles of Faculties, Committees, Councils, and Academic Senate

5. Policy 6-100: Instruction and Evaluation

6. Policy 6-407: General Student Fees

7. 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): Vice Provost for Student Success

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 9.

   1. Approved by the Academic Senate on November 4, 2024, and Board of Trustees on November 12, 2024, with effective date of November 12, 2024.

   2. Legislative History

   3. Editorial Revisions

2. Previous versions.

   1. Revision 8. Effective date: May 8, 2018

      1. Legislative History for Revision 8.

   2. Revision 7. Effective date: October 10, 2017

      1. Legislative History for Revision 7.

   3. Revision 6. Effective date: October 11, 2005

   4. Revision 5. Effective date: August 13, 2001

   5. Revision 4. Effective date: September 11, 2000

   6. Revision 3. Effective date: November 10, 1997

3. Renumbering

   1. Renumbered from Policy and Procedures Manual 3-8.