Course and Program Fee Approval Guidelines and Approval Forms
4410.1 General Policy
Tuition is expected to cover the standard costs of instruction. An additional fee may be requested to cover expenses related to a particular course or program beyond those typically associated with instruction. The Business Manager from the appropriate college is responsible for completing and submitting the course or program fee request form to the Vice President for Business and Finance for review of the financial data. Upon approval of the revenue and expense information, the request will be forwarded to the Vice President for Curriculum and Instruction.
Course Fees:
Course fees are allowable in limited circumstances to recover the actual cost of:
- Required materials consumed during the progress of the course.
- Required materials and equipment that students take away with them at the end of the course.
- Field trips, off-campus lecturers or events and other required activities in a course.
- Use of facilities or equipment the department college does not control.
- Private instruction associated with a course.
- Travel expenses associated with offering a course at an alternative location.
- Technology to support a course (e.g. distance learning).
Revenue from course fees must be used solely for approved purposes and in the courses for which the fees were assessed. Units must maintain documentation of course fee revenue and expenses, which will be subject to periodic review.
Examples of Non-Allowable Expenses:
- Salaries and wages for any university instructor, support staff, or administrative staff.
- Standard equipment and maintenance, such as desks, blackboards, computer projection equipment, fitness equipment, or other standard equipment used for instructional purposes.
- Instructional materials distributed to the class, such as syllabi, assignments, or examination materials.
- Health or safety equipment required in carrying out course activities, such as equipment required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, including but not limited to safety shields, respirators, and eye wash equipment.
- Laboratory equipment usage, primary software, maintenance and related supplies, used by all students and remaining with the college or department at semester’s end.
- Equipment or materials recommended (i.e., not required) in a credit-bearing course.
- Required books, publications, and software, even if retained by the student at the completion of the course. (For these items, it is best that students have the freedom to shop competitively in markets that include used goods.) An exception to this is when a course-wide purchase will result in significant demonstrable savings for the student.
Program Fees: A program fee may be charged for students within a certain program, department, or college to support extraordinary expenses distinctly related to the instructional infrastructure of the program or unit. These fees are intended to cover technology or facilities that are required for instruction within the unit or program and beyond the expected services provided to all university students.
Payment: Course and program fees will be billed at registration with tuition and general university fees. No fees may be collected directly by faculty or units.
Requesting a course or program fee: Colleges, through their Business Manager, may submit a request for a course or program fee using the appropriate approval form. The application requires expense and revenue estimates as well as a justification following the guidelines above. The request should be submitted to the Vice President for Business and Finance for review of the financial data. Upon approval of the revenue and expense information, the request will be forwarded to the Vice President for Curriculum and Instruction.
The Course/Program Expense Accounting page should be completed and signed the Business Manager of the requesting unit using actual enrollments and expenses wherever possible. Anticipated enrollment and costs are acceptable for new programs and programs with significant curricular changes.
The requesting unit will be notified of the disposition of the request within 30 days. In the event that the request is not approved, the requestor may appeal to the Provost.
Assessing a course/program fee: An approved course/program fee will take effect at the beginning of the first registration period that follows approval unless a later date is specified in the application. New or changed course/program fees will not be assessed during a term if registration for that term has already begun.
Course/program fee refunds: Unless otherwise specified in the course fee request, course fees will be refunded in the same manner as tuition and general fees. Course fees may be requested to be nonrefundable after the first day of class if the unit incurs expenses (such as purchase of tickets, nonreturnable or reusable supplies) at the beginning of the term.
