Requests for changes, deletions, or new course, lab and/or miscellaneous fees, including distance education courses, are due no later than November 15 to be effective for the following academic year.
Requests do not need to be submitted for already approved course and laboratory fees, unless an increase, decrease or deletion is being requested.
After reviewing the policies and procedures below, requests should be submitted electronically through the Course and Laboratory Fees module in NuRamp.
Preparing Your Fee Proposal
Please keep in mind the following guidelines. A detailed and complete proposal is appreciated and expected by those reviewing the proposals.
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 fee must be divisible by five. In most cases, increases to approved fees should not be requested within two years of the original request or the most recent increase.
Course Information: You will be asked to provide a basic course description along with why the proposed fee is needed, why the current fee is no longer needed or why the adjustment to the current fee is necessary. Additionally, you will be required to explain how the fee facilitates the learning outcomes of the course.
Cost Justification: In the proposal, you will be asked for itemized costs and detailed justifications for each individual expense that the proposed fee will cover. These expenses should be based on actual costs. The justification should be specific and clear to someone not familiar with the course and clearly state why the expense is necessary.
Impact of Proposed Fee: The proposal should include how the proposed fee would impact the total cost of attendance for students in the programs that require this course. To answer this question, review the program of study for each major/degree that requires the course for which a fee action is being proposed. Are there other courses in the program of study with a course and lab fee? If yes, what is the total cost of course and lab fees for the program of study?
Carryforward: The proposed maximum expected carryforward is required, as well as the cost object for revenue transfers. The maximum expected carryforward should be the amount needed for long-term replacements or otherwise justified.
Miscellaneous Fees
Miscellaneous Fees are any fee other than University Program and Facilities Fees, course and laboratory fees charged to students incidental to the providing of instruction. These proposals may be submitted through NuRamp or by contacting the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor.
Professional Fees
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.
Board of Regents Policy
- RP-5.9.2 Course and Laboratory Fees; Miscellaneous Fees
- RP-5.9.4 Reporting of Course, Laboratory, Online Course and Miscellaneous Fees
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 to be recouped through course and laboratory fees are limited to either:
- Unique costs, that is, unusual and particular costs associated with that course or
- 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 and Laboratory Fees may not be charged include:
- Personnel outside the context of the subject being taught, i.e. salary of instructor, stipend for a presenter.
- 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.
Approval Process and Timeline
Fall Semester
Step 1: Requests for changes, deletions or new course and laboratory fees that are to be effective beginning with the fall term of the following academic year, are submitted in NuRamp and route through Department Executive Officers and Dean/Dean representatives for approval.
Step 2: All proposals that have completed routing and approvals by November 1 are submitted to committee for review. Course and Laboratory Fees Request Forms submitted after this date will not be processed until the next annual review period.
Step 3: An advisory committee, consisting of three faculty members and two ASUN Student Government representatives, review each fee proposal. The committee often asks for additional information from the proposer to complete their review. Following their review, the committee makes recommendations on the requests for changes, deletions or new course and laboratory fee requests.
Spring Semester
Step 4: The Executive Vice Chancellor reviews the committee’s recommendations and presents the proposed fees list and recommendations to the Chancellor.
Step 5: The Chancellor notifies the Executive Vice Chancellor of their recommendations for approval and those fees are submitted to the President. Proposers are notified via NuRamp whether their proposal is moving forward. A list of the recommended fees is also distributed to the Deans, Office of the University Registrar, Student Accounts, and Scholarships and Financial Aid.
Step 6: The President reviews and submits the list of approved fees for consent to the Board of Regents.
Step 7: Following the Board of Regents meeting, the campus is notified. Proposers are notified via NuRamp whether their proposal was approved. A final list of approved fees is distributed to the Deans, DEOs, Office of the University Registrar, Student Accounts and Scholarships and Financial Aid.
Four Year Fee Review
All student fees are required by Board of Regents policy to be reviewed and verified every four years. During this review, units are asked to verify that the justification of the fee is still accurate and if the fee rate and carry-forward balances are still appropriate. Any changes that are needed following this activity are submitted during the next annual proposal cycle.
Procedures for Fee Collection
Approval of course and laboratory fees indicates that a course has been approved to collect a fee up to a approved amount and does not guarantee that this 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.
Only those course and laboratory fees that are published in the online Schedule of Classes will 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.
Questions about Course, Laboratory and Miscellaneous student fees should be directed to the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor at executivevcoffice@unl.edu or 402-472-3751.