7.2.1 Tuition and Fees Procedure

Related Minnesota State Board Policy: Policy 5.11 Tuition and Fees https://www.minnstate.edu/board/policy/511.html

Related Minnesota State Board Procedure: Procedure 5.11.1 Tuition and Fees https://www.minnstate.edu/board/procedure/511p1.html

Purpose: In accordance with Minnesota State Policy 5.11, fees may be assessed to students in addition to regular tuition and student fees. Fees assessed to students must be approved in advance, and published in the schedule of classes. No fee may be imposed without the President's approval and as applicable without the Board of Trustees approval. In accordance with Normandale Community College’s tuition and fee policy, the following outlines the procedures in assessing, expanding and adjusting such fees.

Part 1:General Provisions

This procedure applies to courses for which regular (mandatory and discretionary) student fees are charged as well as other student fees.
Not charging an approved fee is possible if alternative funding becomes available.
Fees must be reviewed annually, subject to adjustments and approvals in the manner outlined in Part 4.
Fees need to be examined periodically to ensure that revenues are approximately equal to expenditures. Fee account activities are the responsibility of the appropriate dean or his/her designee. College oversight of fee balances will be the responsibility of the Vice President of Administration (VPA) or their designee. As warranted, fee adjustments, including reductions, may be implemented by the VPA in consultation with appropriate dean.

Part 2: Definition and Use of Course Fee Revenue

Course fees are designed to cover extraordinary instruction costs included in the fee justification and consistent with Minnesota State policies governing that type of fee (i.e., course fees: equipment, special testing, field trips, applied music, clinical practices, other instructional services, etc.).
Course fees may be assessed to support projects that result in items retained by students (e.g., materials for an art project).
The amount of a course fee must be based on anticipated expenditures incurred on behalf of students or the service covered. Fees should cover only these expenditures, and fee amounts must not be approved to create excess revenues. (e.g. transportation and admission fees for off-campus class activities).

Part 3: Definition and Use of Student Fee Revenue

Student fees exist only in cases of additional administrative or other service costs incurred by the institution for a necessary student activity or requirement not specific to one course or type of course.
Mandatory student fees required of all students or all students in a particular group, regardless of dollar amount, shall be approved by the President and the Board of Trustees.
Transcript fees do not require Board approval, but shall be set to reflect actual costs only.
The amount of a student fee must be based on anticipated cost, and should cover only that actual expenditure. Fee amounts must not be approved to create excess revenues.

Part 4: Adjustments and Approvals

A fee proposal can be initiated for any course or program by the faculty member or program staff. The request must include rationale and justification, explanation of how the amount of the fee was determined, the date of implementation or deletion and the recommended amount of the fee.
1. The request must include a budget detailing what costs will be covered by the fee and a revenue estimate based on projected enrollments or service levels.
2. The request goes through workflow and must be reviewed and approved by the Divisional Vice President, and Dean/Director.
3. If approved, the fee request is forwarded to the Vice President of Administration and the President final approval.
4. Workflow will notify the Divisional Vice President and Dean/Director of the final disposition of the request and keep complete records of the justification for any fee approved.
The continuation of existing course fees after three years will be reviewed by the responsible area and a recommendation made to the dean and the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA). If changing an existing fee, any existing account surplus or deficit should be explained.
Proposals for all new fees, changing or continuation of existing fees, and/or deletion of fees must be submitted in writing to the appropriate dean (if applicable) and Vice President of Administration (VPA) on the fee request form. The appropriate dean, division chair and/or director will review the justification for the fee and approve the proposal.
Proposed fees will be shared with Student Government Association prior to the VPA submitting to the President for final approval.
All fees approved by the President are sent to the VPA in order to:
1. Process appropriate fees for Board of Trustees approval.
2. Update the Special Course Fee Master List. The VPA will work with the deans to review this master list for accuracy.
3. Coordinate the updates needed to the system for student billing and for course scheduling.
All of the processes stated above would follow the designated timelines as outlined Section G.

Part 5: Disclosure Requirement

The official listing of the approved fees will be maintained in the VPA office, or their designee.

Part 7: Review of Fees and Expenditures

During January of each year, the VPA or their designee will provide a copy of the fee master list to each dean or responsible area.
The functional area responsible for the fee will review fee fund balances. Further, the amount of the fee, the account to which fees are posted, and the expenditures from the fee accounts will be reviewed for reasonableness at least annually by the Dean/Director and the Associate Vice President of Finance.
1. Account Surplus: Units are expected to consider whether a course fee should be reduced whenever the account balance exceeds 20% of annual revenue. If a course has not been offered for two consecutive semesters (and a course fee is cancelled), balances may be swept into a central account to be used in one of the following ways:
  1. Fund expenses in courses where fees are not sufficient to cover current consumable costs.
  2. Consolidate into an account that would have broad applicability to student-focused initiatives.
2. Account Deficit: If the account is in deficit (by more than 20% of annual revenue), units should consider whether the fee should be increased or whether there are other funding sources that should be used to fund the activity. Accumulated deficits are the responsibility of the college/department.
3. Audit: Fiscal Service may randomly select a number of course fees to be audited, at which time the responsible department may be asked to justify the account balance or document compliance with this policy.
Any adjustments will be initiated from this review by the dean and/or responsible party, including decreasing or eliminating the fee.

Part 8: Timeline of Fee Proposals

To ensure consistency with the timeline of all other financial proposals, fee setting at the college will occur as part of the annual budget process. It will also provide transparency for students on course fees at the beginning of the academic year and prior to course registration. The fee process timeline details are provided below.

Academic Year (Fall -- Summer): All fee requests will be developed and submitted as part of the annual budget process. Departments will review their planned expenditures, courses and student counts for the upcoming year. Based on that information, departments will submit any fee modifications by February 15. These requests should include any fee adjustments for the entire upcoming academic year, Fall through Summer. New Special Course Fee requests submitted for an upcoming Spring term will be submitted by September 30^th.

Submission of Fee proposals and adjustments at designated points will ensure that the Student Financial Services, Student Services, Financial Aid and Records & Registration have the entire academic year fee information prior to the start of the year and prior to the term registration dates.

Policy History: New

Department Owner: Administration (Finance)

Date of Adoption:

Date of Implementation: May 2023

Date and Subject of Revisions:

Next Review Date (3 years): May 2026