Office of the Provost

Course Fees 2009-2010

Course Fee Request Process

During September of each year, the Provost’s office will provide a copy of the course fees master list to each dean, to be reviewed within their colleges.
Proposals for all new fees, changes in existing fees, renewal of fees after three years, or deletion of fees must be submitted in writing, through the appropriate dean, on the course fee request form. This form (revised 9/07) is found on the SUU website under Policy and Procedures (6.42) http://suu.edu/pub/policies/pdf/PP642Course.pdf. (See attached).
An extensive review of all course fees, including renewals, is required every three years. The next such review will be for 2011-2012 course fees. This year you need only submit requests for new course fees or changes in course fees: 1) Increase the fee, 2) Reduce the fee, 3) Drop the fee, or 4) New fee.
The request form is initiated by the department and forwarded to the dean for review.
Prior to submitting a proposal for a course fee or a course fee change, the dean will review the need for the fee and the use of fee revenue with the student senators of the school or college. The results of the review will be made part of the proposal.
The dean then submits the course fee request to the Provost’s Office for approval and then review by the Course Fee committee.
The request must include rationale and justification, and explanation of how the amount of the fee was determined, the affected courses(s), the date of the implement or deletion, and the suggested amount of the fee.
Per policy, recommendations of the Course Fee committee are forwarded to the President’s Council, then, as needed, to the Board of Trustees for final action at the Board of Trustees December meeting. The deadline to submit course fee request forms for the 2009-2010 school year is October 31, 2008. This will allow time to compile the course fees, conduct the course fee committee review, forward the proposal to the President's Council and then to the Board of Trustees.
Department Chairs are responsible for listing the correct, approved fees on class scheduling sheets submitted to the Registrar’s office and the Cashier’s office.
For each course with an approved fee, the class syllabus must specify the amount of the fee and its intended use.
Course fee requests will remain on file in the Provost’s office.

Course Fee Facts:

Course fees automatically expire after three years, unless reviewed and re-approved.
In addition to regular tuition and student fees, course-specific fees may be assessed to students for lecture and laboratory classes.
Course fees assessed to students must be approved in advance and identified in the schedule of classes.
Departments have the option of not charging an approved course fee if an alternative becomes available.
Course fee policy (6.42) applies only to courses for which regular tuition and student fees are charged, and is not intended to control course fees charged for distance learning, independent study, or other self-support classes.
For each course with an approved fee, the class syllabus must specify the amount of the fee and its intended use.

What to consider when assessing the need for a course fee and the amount of a course fee:

Course fees are designed to cover the costs of equipment maintenance and replacement, software upgrades, consumable materials and supplies, field trips, clinical practice (student teaching), etc.
Course fees may be assessed to support projects which result in items retained by students (e.g., materials for a millwork or art project).
The amount of a course fee must be based on anticipated expenditures for equipment, maintenance, software, supplies, field trips or other direct charges incurred on behalf of students. The fee should cover only these expenditures and departments may not generate excess revenue from these fees.

Course Fee Accounts:

An annual budget will be established for all course fee accounts.
Expenditures and balances from fee accounts will be monitored.
The Provost, deans, and department chairs will review the fee account fund balance reports prepared by financial services. Further, the amount of the fee, the account to which fees are posted and the expenditures from the fee accounts will be reviewed. Any adjustments will be initiated from this review by the dean and each department chair, including decreasing the fee.
Fund balances in the course fee accounts will be monitored by the dean’s office and examined annually to ensure that revenues are approximately equal to expenditures for approved items, including planned, long-term equipment replacements.
A multi-year expenditure plan must be approved by the respective dean.
Campus oversight of fee balances will be the responsibility of the Course Fee committee.
Without an approved expenditure plan, fee adjustments, including reductions, may be warranted.

Who are the members of the Course Fee committee?

The Provost
Two deans appointed by the Provost
Two faculty members appointed by the Faculty Senate president
A financial services representative, and
The Academic Vice President of SUUSA

Course Fee Request Form