System Procedures
Chapter 5 - Administration
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Procedure 5.11.1 Tuition and Fees

Part 1. Authority. Board Policies 1A.1, 1A.3 and 5.11 delegate authority to the chancellor to develop procedures on behalf of the board for purposes of implementing Board policy 5.11.

Part 2. General. All tuition and fee rate structures are authorized by the Board of Trustees. Discretion is given to presidents to establish certain rates in accordance with board policy and system procedure. Colleges and universities shall maintain policies that define the terms under which students are not charged specific fees covered by this policy. Tuition and fees collected shall be deposited and reported through the business office at each college or university.

Before any increase is made in the fee maximums, the Office of the Chancellor shall consult with the statewide student associations.

Part 3. Tuition.All colleges and universities shall charge tuition consistent with Minnesota statutes and policies. The current tuition structure includes, but is not limited to, resident/nonresident per credit, programmatic/course, and banded rates. All tuition, including market driven tuition, shall include the cost of consumable supplies used in the classroom or laboratory. Fees paid by the institution to a private vendor for instructional services should be included in the cost of tuition.

Part 4. Mandatory Fees. Mandatory fees are in statute or policy and are required to be charged at all colleges and universities.

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 Minnesota Statute § 135A.51 and Minnesota Statute § 135A.52.

Subpart B. Parking fees.

Colleges and universities shall develop a policy to charge parking fees to generate revenue for parking lot construction, improvements and maintenance, and parking enforcement, pursuant to Minnesota Statute § 136F.67.

The president shall determine the fees. Students shall pay an amount that is equal to or less than that paid by the institution's 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 Minnesota Statute § 136F.53.

Subpart C. Statewide student association fees. All colleges and universities shall collect a fee as authorized by Minnesota Statute § 136F.22 and in accordance with Board policy 3.7.

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. The policy may provide for specific situations wherein the president of the institution may waive this fee. Consistent with Minnesota Statute § 197.775, students who are eligible and have applied for but not yet received veterans benefits are exempt from being charged a late fee.

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

Part 5. Optional 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. The president of the college or university shall have final approval on all optional fees and subsequent rates.

After consultation with the recognized campus student association, the president may exempt specific groups of students from all or a percentage of any optional fees when deemed to be in the best interests of the college or university. Upon request, the specific group exemption and number of exempt students shall be published and disseminated to students, and the number of exempt students shall 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 campus policy shall 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 shall receive a refund of this fee.

Subpart B. Credit for prior learning assessment fee.

Colleges and universities may establish policies to charge a fee for assessment of learning that is attained outside the sponsorship of legally authorized and accredited higher education institutions, leading to awarding of credit for a comparable competency in accordance with Board policy 3.35 and system procedure 3.35.1.

A fee may be charged for such services as: examinations, performance or product evaluation, reviews of experiential portfolios and nonacademic credentials, and entering the credits awarded into the transcript.

Procedures shall ensure that the fee charged reasonably reflects the cost of service provided, such as personnel costs and related administrative costs, in assessing the learning and awarding credit.

A fee shall not be charged for credit evaluations for students seeking transfer of credits from other accredited higher education institutions.

A fee shall not be charged for students seeking advanced standing without a credit award.

Subpart C. Student life/activity fee.

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

Campus programming and budgeting processes for the use of these funds shall be governed by Board policy 2.8, Student Life.

Subpart D. Athletic fee.

Colleges and universities, by an affirmative vote of the campus student association, may establish or discontinue a policy to charge a fee for athletics in an amount not to exceed the maximum determined by the board. This fee will support student athletics and replace annual requests for funding from the student life/activity fee.

Campus programming and budgeting processes for the use of these funds shall be similar to those processes used for student life activities.

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

Subpart E. Health services fee.

Colleges and universities may establish a policy to charge students a fee for health services as defined by Minnesota Statute § 136F.20.

Campus programming and budgeting processes for the use of these funds shall be similar to those processes used for student life activities.

The decision to charge the fee either per credit or as a flat fee shall be made in consultation with the campus student association.

Subpart F. Special events fee.

Colleges and universities may establish a policy to charge students for special campus events.

These events may include, but are not limited to, such activities as seminars, workshops, special orientations, 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 shall be charged only to students participating in this program.

Student program participants shall 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.

A technology fee advisory committee shall exist for each college or university. A majority of the committee members shall 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 institution 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 2, subpart B.

The college or university president has final authority regarding expenditure of funds received from the technology fee. The 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.

Part 5. Personal Property and Service Charges. Personal property fees shall be for items that become the personal property of a student and have an educational or personal value beyond the classroom. Personal property charges include items that are retained by the student. Service charges shall be for services for or on the behalf of the student. Fees may not be charged for consumable supplies, nor for system on-campus and off-campus facilities costs related to instruction.

Individual personal property and service charges shall be approved by the president. The approximate fee range or rate shall be available to students at the time of registration. A list of these fees shall be available to students upon request at the campus. Fees are determined by the president based on actual costs and can include but are not limited to fees for such items as follow.

Subpart A. Personal property. Personal property is that property retained by the student and having value outside of the classroom. Personal property may include, but is not limited to, tools, books, materials and supplies retained by the student, official transcripts, identification cards, and replacement or additional diplomas.

Subpart B. Service charges. Service charges shall include:

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

ASpecial testing, including testing for counseling (e.g. career interest inventories, type indicators, etc.); occupational certification; retesting of entry level assessment; and optional testing requested by the student. This fee shall not be charged for initial entry assessment or required outcome assessment.

Other instructional services, such as:
a. additional instructional costs not included in tuition, but paid by the student to a private vendor (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.
b. fees for private lessons associated with a credit-bearing course (e.g. flight training, voice or instrument, art, etc.) may be charged in addition to tuition.

Other non-instructional services provided to students for their personal benefit, such as legal services, health services, and insurance.

Assessments to discourage a behavior such as a library overdue charge, an NSF bank charge or restitution charge to pay for damage incurred.

Actual course-related travel costs required for transportation, room, board and other expense incurred by students in the course of travel related to an instructional activity.