As stewards of the students dollars it is important that we ensure the funds students provide are used in a reasonable and proper manner to advance their education. Course fees (including lab fees) should not be used as a substitute for tuition increases, or to fill budget shortfalls.
GUIDELINES: Generally, Course fees should be charged when there is a tangible end product retained by the student, or has extraordinary costs. Examples of appropriate uses include the following:
- Group travel costs such as gas and mileage reimbursements not including food
- Admission and rental fees to off-campus educational facilities
- Rental or use fees for specialized equipment used exclusively for instruction
- Off campus field trips or specialized equipment and facilities use
- Private instruction such as one-to-one study with an instructor for music performance
- Expendable materials such as:
- Materials of a specialized nature not readily available in retail stores.
- Materials that can be purchased by the department in large quantities at significant cost savings to the students
- Materials that must conform to certain specification and be identical for all students
- Expensive materials needed by each student in such small quantities that they could not normally be purchased economically in such quantities
- Technology expense fees that are beyond the expected basic technology services as defined by the university
- Selected expenses such as:
- Art class models for hire, musical accompanists, and mock patients for clinical practice classes.
- Supervisory instruction (including travel) for in-context training classes such as onsite student teaching, social work practicum and clinical experience
- Refundable deposits for expensive equipment or apparatus that is temporarily entrusted to the students’ care
INAPPROPRIATE FEES: Fees may not be charged for the cost of graduate assistants or adjuncts who are:
- Instructors of record
- Course fee balances should not be carried forward from year to year except where accumulation is necessary to replace bulk supplies and/or specialized equipment
EXTERNAL USER FEES:
- Fees must be competitive with market
- Fees may not be discriminatory
- Room rentals must have approval of the university planning office to determine if there is a possible conflict with public vs. private use
- Academic units may not engage in activities managed by self-support auxiliary operations (such as parking, vending, leasing space, etc.)
For more information about the process, please see the /wiki/spaces/~655483049/pages/999489625.
For more information about the tuition, fees and fines policy, please see PSU's board policy.