Scope

This policy impacts all university units requesting any planned changes to course, laboratory, and miscellaneous fees including increasing, decreasing, eliminating or adding course, laboratory, and miscellaneous fees.

Policy Statement

All course, laboratory, and miscellaneous fees must be initiated and administered in accordance with Board of Regents Policy 5.9.2 and applicable UNO policies. Each fee has an assigned fund owner that is responsible for ensuring that all fees are collected and expended in accordance with the declared purpose of the fee. 
 
All course, laboratory, and miscellaneous fee funds are subject to periodic and regular audit to ensure that all funds collected are (1) being used only for expenditures outlined in each fee proposal, (2) fund balances are monitored and controlled, and (3) that carry-forward balances are within the established campus limits for the specific fund.
 
Each course, laboratory, and miscellaneous fee will have a corresponding fee proposal form on file in Academic Affairs detailing the purpose and function of each fee. All changes to an existing fee, including elimination, or the addition of a new fee require the submission of a fee proposal form and the appropriate review and approval.

Reason for Policy

This policy exists to demonstrate compliance at the campus level with Board of Regents Policies 5.9.2 & 5.9.3.

Procedures

An annual announcement is sent by the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Curriculum and Programs (AVCCP) in October notifying the campus to submit requests for all planned changes to course, laboratory, and miscellaneous fees by a specific date in early December. The request is submitted on the campus Course, Laboratory, and Miscellaneous Fee Approval Form with the required administrator approvals. 
 
All course, laboratory, and miscellaneous fees are reviewed initially by an Academic Affairs Fee Panel. Additional information may be requested from the submitting department. The panel’s initial recommendations will be submitted to the Sr. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for review. 
 
After review by the Sr. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the proposed fees will be presented to  Extended Leadership for review.  After review and changes based on input from Extended Leadership, the AVCCP will prepare a summary report to the Chancellor with the recommended proposed fees. The Chancellor has final campus approval authority
 

A Board of Regents recommended action for approval document is prepared by the AVCCP and forwarded to the Chancellor for submission to the President for approval. Upon approval by the President, the recommended action for approval document is submitted for inclusion in the appropriate Board of Regents meeting agenda. After the Board of Regents has approved the fee requests, the AVCCP will notify the submitting department of such approval or denial of their request.

Definitions

As defined by RP 5.9.2:
 
Course Fee: A charge applied to students enrolled in a specific course for expenses directly related to the student’s participation.
 
Laboratory Fee: A charge made to students to underwrite, in whole or in part, the cost of services, rentals, and consumable supplies used in a laboratory environment.
 
Miscellaneous Student Fee: All fees other than UPFF, course, and laboratory fees charged to students incidental to the providing of instruction.

Related Information

General policies governing the administration of Student Fees are set forth in §5.9 of the Board of Regents Policies of the University of Nebraska

History

03/28/23: Minor position title and department name revisions to reflect current process and organizational structure.

Policy approved by the Chancellor’s Cabinet on August 15, 2017.  This policy codifies what has been practice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), but does not replace any existing policy.