Procedure 5.11.1 Tuition and Fees

System Procedures
Chapter 5 - Administration

Part 1. Authority
Board Policy 1A.1 delegates authority to the chancellor to develop procedures on behalf of the Board of Trustees for purposes of implementing board policy.

All tuition and fee rate structures are authorized by the board. Tuition and fees collected must be deposited and reported through the business office at each college or university.

Discretion is given to presidents to establish certain tuition and fee rates in accordance with board policy and system procedure. Before any new fee category is added or any increase is made in the fee maximums, the system office shall consult with the statewide student associations.

Part 2. Tuition
All colleges and universities shall charge tuition consistent with Minnesota statutes and policies. The tuition categories are per credit, banded, differential course and program, and market driven. Any tuition category may include international, resident, reciprocity, and nonresident rates. All tuition must include the cost of consumable supplies used in the classroom or laboratory. Advance deposits are considered prepayment of tuition and are refundable in accordance with Board Policy 5.12.

Subpart A. Per credit tuition
Colleges and universities may charge tuition on a per credit basis for undergraduate and graduate programs. Per credit tuition rates are approved for individual colleges and universities by the board as part of the annual operating budget process.

Subpart B. Banded tuition
Banded tuition is defined as charging a single-rate tuition for credits registered within an identified range of credits. Individuals falling above or below the identified range pay per credit tuition rates. Banded tuition rates are approved for colleges and universities by the board as part of the operating budget process.

Subpart C. Differential course and program tuition
Colleges and universities may charge tuition by course or program when special circumstances exist. These circumstances may include, but are not limited to an extraordinary cost of offering the course or academic program (e.g., need for specialized equipment and supplies; accreditation standards; delivery methods, e.g., off site locations, online, clinical experience) or a desire to incent enrollment in a specific course or program.

Setting tuition by program assigns a per credit price for all the core courses in an academic program, regardless of whether or not the student is degree-seeking within that program. Setting tuition by course assigns a per credit price for an individual course, based on the unique circumstances of that course. Differential course and program tuition rates are reviewed by system office personnel for compliance with procedure and approved by the board as part of the operating budget process. Colleges and universities must maintain documentation regarding differential rates including costs included in the differential charge.

Subpart D. Market driven tuition
Colleges and universities may set and charge market driven tuition for customized training, continuing education, graduate programs, fully online undergraduate programs, non-resident/non-reciprocity, international, non-credit instruction, and contract post-secondary enrollment options.

Part 3. Required Fees
Required fees are in statute or policy and must be charged at all colleges and universities. All required fees must be at or below board specified maximums.

Subpart A. Senior citizen fee in lieu of tuition
Each college and university shall charge an administrative fee in lieu of tuition to senior citizens pursuant to Minn. Stat. §135A.51 and §135A.52. A senior citizen enrolled under this section must pay any materials, personal property, or service charges for the course.

Subpart B. Parking fees, permits, or charges

Colleges and universities shall develop a policy to charge parking fees to generate revenue for parking lot repair or construction, pursuant to Minn. Stat. §136F.67 and parking operations including enforcement.

The president shall determine the fees, permits or charges, and how they are assessed.

Students shall pay an amount that is equal to or less than that paid by the colleges’ and universities’ employees for the same type of parking (e.g. reserved, general, etc.).

Colleges and universities have the option to collect fines and towing fees for parking violations pursuant to Minn. Stat. §136F.53.

Subpart C. Statewide student association fees
All colleges and universities shall collect a statewide student association fee as authorized by Minn. Stat. §136F.22 and in accordance with board policy.

Subpart D. Fees associated with tuition and fee payments

Colleges and universities shall establish a policy to charge a fee for late payment of tuition and/or fees. A late fee may also be charged for late payment under an approved payment plan. Consistent with Minn. Stat. §197.775, students who are eligible and have applied for but not yet received veteran benefits are exempt from being charged a late fee.

The policy may provide for specific situations wherein the president of the college or university may waive this fee. Documentation concerning waivers must be retained and made available upon request.

Colleges and universities shall establish a policy to charge a fee for payment plans. This fee must allow students to pay their tuition and fees over the course of the semester.

Part 4. Campus Discretionary Fees
Colleges and universities may choose among the fees detailed below in determining those that are appropriate to the college or university and may establish the appropriate level of the fees consistent with board policy and system procedure. All campus discretionary fees must be at or below board specified maximums. The president of the college or university shall have final approval on all campus discretionary fees and subsequent rates, subject to limits established at the discretion of the chancellor.

After consultation with the recognized campus student association, the president may exempt certain campuses, sites, or specific groups of students (e.g., fully online students) from all or a percentage of any campus discretionary fees when deemed to be in the best interests of the college or university. Colleges and universities shall maintain and appropriately disseminate policies that define the terms under which students are not charged specific fees covered by this policy. Upon request, the specific group exemption and number of exempt students must be published and disseminated to students, and the number of exempt students must be reported to the appropriate campus student associations.

Subpart A. Student application fee

Colleges and universities may establish a policy to charge a fee for student applications, consistent with Board Policy 3.4 and System Procedure 3.4.1. The local college or university policy must list situations in which students are not charged this fee.

Undergraduate or graduate application fees may be assessed at each college or university to all credit-seeking applicants. Students denied enrollment to the college or university due to program size limitations or closure must receive a refund of this fee.

Subpart B. Credit for prior learning assessment fee

Colleges and universities shall establish policies for credit for prior learning pursuant to board policy and system procedure. The policies may include fees for credit for prior learning as indicated below.

The fees charged must reasonably reflect the cost of services provided in assessing the learning and awarding of credit, and are reviewed by system office personnel for consistency and compliance with procedure.

A fee must not be charged for previously evaluated credit for prior learning students seeking transfer of credits from other regionally or nationally accredited higher education institutions.

A fee must not be charged for transcripting credits for an award of credit for prior learning.

A fee must not be charged for students seeking faculty consent for enrollment in a course or waiver of prerequisites that does not involve an award of credit for prior learning.

A fee must not be charged for analysis and awarding of credit for military courses and military training pursuant to Minn. Stat. §197.775.

Subpart C. Student life/activity fee

Colleges and universities may establish a policy to charge a fee for student life activities as defined by Minn. Stat. §136F.01, subd. 5 and Board Policy 2.8 Student Life.

College or university programming and budgeting processes for the use of these funds must be governed by Board Policy 2.8 Student Life.

Colleges and universities must not increase student life activity fees by greater than two percent relative to the previous academic year unless the increase is approved by a majority of students voting in a campus referendum, pursuant to Minn. Stat. §135A.0434.

Subpart D. Athletics fee

Colleges and universities, by an affirmative vote of the campus student association, may establish a policy to charge a fee for athletics. This fee will support student athletics and replace annual requests for funding from the student life/activity fee.

College or university programming and budgeting processes for the use of these funds must be similar to those processes used for student life activities.

For this fee, students will receive admission to regular athletic contests, pursuant to an agreement with the campus student association and based on ticket availability.

Colleges and universities must not increase student athletic fees by greater than two percent relative to the previous academic year unless the increase is approved by a majority of students voting in a campus referendum, pursuant to Minn. Stat. §135A.0434.

Subpart E. Health services fee

Colleges and universities may establish a policy to charge students a fee for health services as defined by Minn. Stat. §136F.20 including mental health services.

College or university programming and budgeting processes for the use of these funds must be similar to those processes used for student life activities.

The decision to charge the fee as per credit (including the number of credits the fee is assessed on) or per term must be made after consultation with the campus student association.

Subpart F. Fees for voluntary special events

Colleges and universities may establish a policy to charge students for special campus events in which participation is voluntary. Colleges and universities may only charge students who participate in the special campus event.

These voluntary events may include, but are not limited to, activities such as seminars, workshops, lectures, orientations, Welcome week activities, enrichment events, concerts, convocations, ceremonies such as graduation, and athletic events.

Subpart G. Residential learning community fee

Colleges and universities may establish a policy to charge a residential learning community fee.

The fee must be charged only to students participating in this program.

Student program participants must be included in the process for allocating this fee.

Subpart H. Technology fee

Colleges and universities may establish a policy to charge a fee to students for the acquisition, upgrading and/or maintenance of technology for academic and student support activities that provide or enhance student access to technology. Academic and student support activities include but are not limited to technology infrastructure, computer labs, wireless networks, ongoing technology support, and software licensing.

Each college and university shall have a technology fee advisory committee. A majority of the committee members must be students. The campus student association(s) shall appoint the student members of the technology fee advisory committee. Prior to making recommendations to the college or university president, the technology fee advisory committee will present the recommendations to the campus student association(s) for advice and recommendation.

The campus student association(s) and the college or university president or designee shall jointly determine a schedule for the technology fee advisory committee to ensure that the plan and budget for the technology fee will be completed for action prior to the end of the spring semester. The college or university shall provide the necessary background materials in advance to the technology fee advisory committee in accordance with System Procedure 2.3.1, Part 3, subpart B.

The college or university president shall review any modifications to the recommendation with the campus student association(s) and the technology fee advisory committee prior to the implementation for that year.

Subpart I. New student orientation fee

Colleges and universities, by affirmative vote of the campus student association, may establish a policy to charge a new student orientation fee. This fee will be assessed to all new students enrolling for the first time at the college or university. Students who are permitted to enroll but are not candidates for diplomas, certificates, or degrees at that college or university must not be charged the new student orientation fee.

The new student orientation fee will support new student orientation activities and other strategies designed to assist new students in making a successful academic and social transition to the college or university. Examples of strategies include, but are not limited to, orientation and welcome week activities. The new student orientation fee should not fund course registration activities.

Initiatives funded by the new student orientation fee must be open and accessible for all new students to participate.

The budgeting process used for the allocation of these funds must be similar to the processes used for student life activities.

Subpart J. Sustainability fee

Colleges and universities, by affirmative vote of the campus student association, may establish a policy to charge a sustainability fee.

The sustainability fee will be used in support of progress toward the system’s commitment to environmental sustainability as outlined in Board Policy 5.17 and System Procedure 5.17.1, excluding capital projects.

The budgeting process used for the allocation of these funds shall be similar to the processes used for student life activities.

Part 5. Personal Property Charges, Service Charges, and Assessments
Personal property charges, service charges, and assessments are authorized by the board and adopted at campus discretion. Students may not be charged for consumable supplies related to instruction.

Individual personal property charges, service charges, and assessments must be approved by the president. The approximate range or rate must be available to students at the time of registration. A list of these charges must be available to students upon request at each campus. Documentation of charge calculations must be maintained for audit purposes.

Subpart A. Personal property charges
Personal property charges must be for items that become the personal property of a student and have an educational or personal value beyond the classroom. These items may include, but are not limited to, tools, books, and materials retained by the student. It also includes official transcripts, identification cards, and replacement or additional diplomas.

Subpart B. Service charges
Service charges must be for services for or on the behalf of the student and may include:

Equipment, including purchases, special leases, or rentals as required by program, college, or university. Situations requiring students to purchase or lease college- or university-wide technology must be reviewed by the technology fee advisory committee and the campus student association(s) must be consulted.

Special testing including, but not limited to, testing for counseling (e.g. career interest inventories, type indicators, etc.); occupational certification, licensure, or assessment; retesting of entry level assessment; and optional testing requested by the student. Students must not be charged for initial entry assessment or required outcome assessment.

Other instructional services, such as:

additional instructional costs not included in tuition but paid by the student to a vendor or auxiliary service (e.g. theater tickets, bowling lane rentals, green fees, ski lift tickets, etc.) may be a service charge if identified at the time of registration.

costs of private lessons or services associated with a credit-bearing course (e.g. flight training, voice or instrument, art, etc.) may be charged in addition to tuition.

electronic course materials including online subscriptions but not including open educational resources (OER) materials.

Other non-instructional services provided to students such as legal services, health services, background checks, drug and alcohol screening, and insurance.

Actual course-related travel costs required for transportation, room, board and other expense.

Subpart C. Assessments
Colleges and universities may assess charges to discourage certain behaviors, such as a library overdue charge, a non-sufficient funds bank charge, restitution charge to pay for damage incurred, or violations of campus health and safety policies.

Part 6. Revenue Fund Fees
Revenue fund fees must be charged to generate sufficient revenue to pay the debt service, equip, operate, maintain, and repair revenue fund facilities. Fees must be sufficient to provide adequate operating reserves. Revenue fund fees are charged for room and board, student union facilities, wellness center, outdoor recreation, parking, and for any other revenue generating facility that is designated as part of the revenue fund by the board. Optional fees may be charged and include other usage, service, and equipment fees.

Subpart A. Room and board fees
The room fee is the amount an enrolled student pays for occupying a residence hall room while attending a college or university. The board fee is the amount an enrolled student pays for their selected meal plan offerings.

Subpart B. Student union facilities fees
The amount an enrolled student pays to support the debt operations and maintenance of a student union facility while attending a college or university.

Subpart C. Wellness center and recreation facility fees
The amount an enrolled student pays to support the debt, operations, and maintenance of a student wellness center or recreation facility or area while attending a college or university.

Subpart D. Parking ramp and surface lot fees
The amounts that students, faculty, staff, and visitors pay for parking in or on parking facilities in the revenue fund.

Subpart E. Other facilities fees
The board may from time to time approve fees for revenue fund facilities that are not otherwise contemplated above. Those facilities fees must be charged to an enrolled student to support such a revenue generating facility, which must be designated by the board as part of the revenue fund.

Subpart F. Revenue fund fees charged for use of facilities
Colleges and universities shall charge revenue fund fees for the use of revenue fund facilities. Revenue fund fees charged for use of facilities are items such as event or facility usage fees, service charges, and equipment charges. The president of the college or university shall have final approval on all such usage fees and subsequent rates. The president may exempt specific groups from all or a percentage of room or facility usage or rental fees provided the revenue fund program remains financially viable and such exemption is deemed to be in the best interests of the college or university and consistent with the waiver process established by the campus. The three major categories of optional revenue fund usage fees are listed below:

Room or facility usage or rental fees, such as for use of rooms in the student union, athletic facilities, fields, and residence hall common rooms. Fees may also be charged for facility usage outside a typical academic year, such as for summer or conference activities, storage, and early or between semester occupancy of residence halls. It is usual and customary that recognized campus student organizations (as defined under System Procedure 2.8.1 Student Life) are exempt from ordinary room or facility usage or rental fees.

Service charges, such as for lost or damaged items or modification of contractual terms. A sampling of such fees may include, but are not limited to, a fee for early release from a residence hall contract, residence hall cancellation fee, late charges, installment payment charges, lost key charge, loaner key charge, room changes charge, damages to residence hall room or common areas.

Equipment and personal property fees for use in Revenue fund facilities, such as fees for rental of athletic equipment, installation of equipment (i.e. air conditioning in residence halls), technology, or other items or services otherwise available for use by students who use the facility.

Procedure History:

Date of Adoption: 06/21/00
Date of Implementation: 08/06/08
Date of Last Review: 05/17/23

Date and Subject of Amendments:

05/17/23 - Reviewed as part of the 5-year review process. Added new Part 4, Subpart J. Sustainability fee. Amendments include technical edits and the application of new formatting and writing standards.

11/30/18 – Part 4, Subpart I, was amended to directly define a special student status.

08/02/18 - Procedure 5.11.1 went through a periodic review, substantive changes were made throughout the procedure. Part 4, Subpart I, New student orientation fee was added. Part 5, Subpart C, Assessments was added. The language and formatting were updated with the new writing and formatting styles.

Additional HISTORY

Procedure 5.11.1 Tuition and Fees

Related Documents:

Procedure History: