Service Fees

Purpose

Service fees are a group of fees dedicated to covering the cost of providing goods and services to students, staff, campus groups, University departments or the public.

Definition

Service Fees: A fee charged students, staff and/or the public to cover the cost of providing goods or services. The rate of the fee is directly related to the cost of the services or goods provided. Fee increases are limited to projected program costs.
Some examples of these fees include: application fees, library fines, career services, parking and transportation, conference services, recreation center/special services, debate team fees, summer sports camp, department services/equipment charges, tickets for performances and athletic events, enrollment and orientation fee, transcript fees, health services – medical supplies, Viking union, housing and dining, and Western Front.

Departmental Service Fees: A department that offers a specific type of service primarily to other university departments and that charges a fee directly related to the cost of the goods or services provided. Fee increases are limited to projected program costs. Some examples include: Publishing Services, Facilities Management, Motor pool, etc.

Other Academic Program Fees: A group of fees charged to students, staff and/or the public to cover the cost of providing goods or services in relation to an academic program. Examples of this type of fee include: Ed Abroad application fee, international program and exchanges late fee, international faculty led program fee (to cover travel costs).

Criteria

In order to be established, the fee must meet at least one of the following criteria:

Cover the Cost of Goods or Services Provided to Internal or External Entities
Promote the Self-Regulation or Rationing of Services or Assets

Approval Process

In order for a Service Fee to be established or for an already established fee to be changed, the fee must:

Be within the educational context and mission of the University;
Be in compliance with POL-5100.02 – Educational Commercial Activities; and
Fully or partially cover the cost of goods or services not currently funded by the state or other revenue sources.

Action By:	Action:
Staff Member of Department	Completes a Service Fee Form. Submits completed Service Fee Form to the appropriate Chair/Director/Dean.
Chair/Director Dean	Chair/Director Dean Receives, reviews, and recommends for approval or disapproval the Service Fee Form. If approved, forwards the Academic Fee Form to the Budget Officer of the Division. If not recommended for approval, "disapproves" form.
Budget Officer	Receives and reviews the fee proposal and expenditure plans and then: If recommended for approval, forwards the form to the Divisional Vice President / Provost or a representative appointed by the Vice President to approve fees. If not recommended for approval, "disapproves" form.
Vice President / Provost / VP Representative	Receives and reviews the fee proposal and expenditure plans, gathers any other information needed and then: If recommended for approval, forwards to Budget and Financial Planning. If not recommended for approval, "disapproves" form.
Budget & Financial Planning	Receives fee forms and then: Assures proper routing through Vice President / Provost or the Vice President's representative. Checks fee form for accuracy and to make sure any referenced attachments are included. Prepares fees for University Fee Committee Review and sets meeting dates.
University Fee Committee	Reviews fee proposals based on the following: Uses, expenditures, and account balances to validate that the proposed fee amounts are reasonable based on the purpose of the fee, The proposed purpose of the fee is not already covered by another funding source that is currently in place or available, Fee does not exceed the cost of goods and services to be provided, and Fiscal and other impacts of fee upon other areas of the University. Requests division representative to collect more information if needed. Makes recommendations for changes to fee proposal if deemed necessary for approval. If material changes are made to the form, division representative ensures changes are approved by the appropriate Vice President/Provost via signature on the corresponding form. Informs Budget & Financial Planning which fees are approved. If the University Fee Committee can not unanimously agree on the merits of a fee, the fee will move to the Vice Presidents for review and final decision.
Vice Presidents	Upon receipt of the fee form the Vice Presidents will: Review the proposed fee as well as the summary of the University Fee Committee meeting related to the fee. Budget & Financial Planning notified of the decision regrading the fee.
Budget & Financial Planning	Following the review by the University Fee Committee and/or the Vice Presidents, the Budget & Financial Planning Office will then: "Lock" all fee forms for all fees that have been approved. "Disapprove" any fee forms for fees not approved to go forward. Publish all approved fees on Budget & Financial Planning Website as well as on a Millennium dashboard.

Collecting Revenue

Action By:	Action:
Department or Area Collecting Fee	Checks the fee publication on BFP's website or the Fee Dashboard in Millennium prior to charging a fee to assure 1) that the fee is listed/approved and 2) that the correct amount is charged. If a fee is not listed, the Approval Process above need to be completed before the fee can be collected. If fee is listed, use the amount in the listing, or the amount determined by goods and services if a "variable" fee, to charge the student/client. Fees are collected by departments in various ways and through different software applications as well as "in person" collection at the Cashier's Office but collecting cash or checks by a department and delivering to the Cashier is discouraged unless there is no other alternative. Please contact Treasury Services for information on how to set up online collection for a fee or to ask about other alternatives for fee collection.
Student/Client	Pays the fee - either online or in person.
Student Business Office / Cashier or Software Application	Records the transaction and applies payment to the appropriate fund.

Administering & Spending Fees

Financial Manager is Responsible for the Proper Administration of Their Fees
Financial Managers are responsible for the review and reconciliation of fee funds. They must monitor fee fund balances to ensure that the level of fund balance is appropriate to support the approved purpose(s) of the fee and to formulate plans for managing fund balances when fee revenue exceeds fee expenditure.

Departments may not accumulate balances that exceed approved program costs and appropriate reserves. Appropriate reserves include equipment and system replacement.