Overview
Requests for Changes, Deletions, or New Course and Laboratory Fees
Effective for the 2025-26 academic year, requests for changes, deletions, or new course fees, including distance education courses, are due no later than Friday, November 1, 2024. Requests should be submitted electronically through the Course and Laboratory Fees module in NuRamp. Get started by logging into NuRamp and selecting Course and Laboratory Fee Forms. When submitting your request, justification must be included for each course and fee to receive approval.
Board of Regents approval of course and laboratory fees indicates that a course has been approved to collect fees up to a certain amount and does not guarantee that a fee will automatically be collected. It is the department's responsibility to indicate each semester when approved fees are to be collected by working with the Office of the University Registrar. Requests do not need to be submitted for already approved course and laboratory fees, unless a change or deletion is being requested.
Additional information and materials are available as resources in this process.
Timeline
Approval Process Overview and Timeline
Only those course and laboratory fees that are published in the online Schedule of Classes may be collected. Newly approved course and laboratory fees that are to be collected for the first time in the subsequent fall must be published in the fall Schedule of Classes. Departments should work directly with the Office of the University Registrar on having fees appear in the fall Schedule of Classes while they are under review.
Professional fees are distinct and separate from course and laboratory fees which are associated to a course number. Please contact the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor regarding the approval process of professional fees.
Timeline and Approval Process
Early Fall
In early fall, the Academic Deans are asked to request from their departments changes, deletions or new course and laboratory fees that are to be effective beginning with the fall term of the following academic year. The requests are submitted to the college deans offices through NUgrant.
November 1
Deans submit the requests made by their departments to the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor via NUgrant. Course and Laboratory Fees Request Forms submitted after this date will not be processed until the next annual review period.
Mid-November
An advisory committee, consisting of three faculty members and two ASUN student representatives reviews and makes recommendations on the requests for changes, deletions or new course and laboratory fee requests.
December/January
The Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer presents the proposed fees list and recommendations to the Chancellor.
February
The Chancellor notifies the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer of his recommendations for approval and the list is prepared for submission to the President. Deans are notified of the fees that will be forwarded for approval and those that were not recommended for approval. A list of the recommended fees is also distributed to the Office of the University Registrar, Student Accounts, and Scholarships and Financial Aid.
Spring
The President submits the list of approved fees for consent to the Board of Regents. Following the Board of Regents meeting, the campus is notified. A final list of approved fees is distributed to the Deans, Chairs, Heads, Directors, Office of the University Registrar, Student Accounts and Scholarships and Financial Aid. Individuals who submitted Course and Laboratory Fees Request forms through NUgrant will also be notified.
Definitions and Guidelines
Course and Laboratory Fees Definitions and Guidelines
According to the Board of Regents policy RP-5.9.2 Course and Laboratory Fees; Miscellaneous Fees, "The following fundamental concepts shall be observed with regard to the expenditure of non-UPFF student fee revenues:
- A description of the fees charged and their purpose must be provided to students on a website or in another manner determined by the campus.
- Student fee expenditures must align with the purposes and descriptions for which they were collected.
- Student fees shall be expended for purposes that directly benefits the students charged.
- Fees shall not be distributed for the benefit of an individual student (ex: scholarship or fellowship) nor be awarded on a competitive basis.
Costs related to the development, instruction and assessment of offering a course are expected to be borne by the department and college, including materials related to the mechanics of teaching the course, such as course outlines, syllabi, exams, and similar handouts. The department is also expected to bear the costs of staffing courses, including personnel employed to aid in the course such as teaching assistants and guest speakers.
A Course fee is defined as a charge applied to students enrolled in a specific course for expenses directly related to the student’s participation. A Laboratory (lab) fee is defined as a charge made to students to underwrite, in whole or in part, the cost of services, rentals, and consumable supplies utilized in a laboratory environment.
Costs that may be assessed through these fees include, but are not limited to, any consumable materials, services provided as a part of the class, travel costs for the student to attend a required field trip, computer related software for student use specific to the course, individual exams or assessments produced by a third party that are purchased at a group rate, materials such as manuals, chemicals, glassware, protective or other clothing, paints, brushes and canvasses that will be consumed by the student in the course of instructional activities. A course or lab fee may also include the costs of purchase, maintenance, repair and replacement of equipment used in the delivery of a course or execution of a lab. A course or lab fee shall not be expended for general departmental or administrative costs.
A miscellaneous student fee is defined as all fees other than UPFF, course, and laboratory fees charged to students incidental to the providing of instruction. Examples of fees included within this category are application fees, transcript fees, teacher placement fees, special instructional fees, late payment fees, technology fees and returned check fees."
In preparing your request, please keep in mind the following definitions and guidelines:
Definition of laboratory: Laboratories for which fees may be charged include any space in which students work with equipment and materials to enhance their skills. Examples include but are not limited to writing labs, non-general use computer labs, design labs, studios, chemistry labs, biological labs and engineering labs.
Allowable Expenses: Expenses associated with a laboratory which are to be recouped through course and laboratory fees are limited to either:
(1) unique costs, that is, unusual and particular costs associated with that course or
(2) physical materials which the student consumes during or takes away from the course. Examples of these expenses include (but are not limited to): rental and gas for a van for a course requiring a field trip, supplies to be consumed during a printmaking course, educational tests to be administered by students in a course on educational measurements, specialized software needed by students who are studying graphic design or textiles; personnel included in the context of the subject being taught, i.e. art models; food included in the context of the subject being taught such as an etiquette dinner for discussion in an employment seminar.
Not Allowable Expenses: Expenses for which course associated laboratory Course and Laboratory Fees may not be charged include:
- Personnel outside the context of the subject being taught, i.e. salary of instructor.
- Food purchased for human consumption outside the context of the subject being taught, i.e. lunch purchased for students while on field trip.
- Expenses for computers, printers, general purpose software, and other equipment used in general use laboratories.
Justification: Justification is requested in the Course and Laboratory Request Form and should be specific and clear to someone not familiar with the course. The justification should clearly state why the fee is necessary.
Minimum fee and increase: The minimum fee to be collected on a single course is $5. Course and Laboratory fee increases on an active course must be divisible by five.
Approved Fees: According to RP-5.9.4 Reporting of Course, Laboratory, Online Course and Miscellaneous Fees, "All fees must be reviewed by the campus at least once every four years."