Policy Statement and Why We Have This Policy
The Berkeley Campus Policy and Procedures on Miscellaneous Student Fees has been created to define Berkeley’s implementation of the University of California Office of the President Delegation of Authority for the setting of miscellaneous student fees. The systemwide delegation gives the Chancellor the authority to set miscellaneous student fees on campus and requires that the campus define a set of procedures for review and approval.
This policy covers fees and service charges that may be assessed for purposes such as: covering the cost of non-instructional services or materials; encouraging compliance with administrative rules; replacing or repairing equipment which is damaged by students beyond normal wear and tear; recovering costs through rental charges for the student's use of University-owned tools, musical instruments, or other equipment; or covering the cost of other materials or services necessary to provide a special supplemental educational experience of direct benefit to the student.
The following principles govern these fees on the Berkeley campus:
- A reasonable relationship between the fee and its purpose should exist;
- A fee should supplement but not supplant campus operating funds;
- A fee should not be levied if the administrative cost of the fee will be greater than the benefits received;
- Fee increases should be kept moderate and gradual where possible; and
- Students should advise departments and the Chancellor on miscellaneous student fees.
This policy does not cover fees established by the Office of the President; course materials fees; mandatory, campus-based fees; fees charged by auxiliary-type enterprises; fees charged by recharge centers; and fees charged for programs, services, or supplies where the primary target audiences or user groups are generally assumed to be members of the larger Berkeley or external community.
Individuals and departments responsible for developing, discontinuing, approving and communicating about miscellaneous student fees must comply with the procedures outlined herein.
Who Is Affected by This Policy
Students, faculty, administrators and staff.
Who Administers This Policy
Campus Budget Office
Responsibilities
Chancellor
- Approves, denies, or returns for further review requests to establish, increase, decrease or discontinue miscellaneous student fees.
- Notifies the campus Budget Office of decisions.
Campus Budget Office
- Responds to requests for information about fee development and the review and approval process.
- Communicates broadly about the procedures for establishing, increasing, decreasing or discontinuing miscellaneous student fees.
- Manages the application and approval process of miscellaneous student fees through Committee on Student Fees and Budget Review, Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees (CACSSF) and the Chancellor. There will be one application cycle per year.
- Manages those rare instances when, in order for students to be given a vital opportunity that would otherwise be missed, a miscellaneous student fee needs to be considered outside the once-a-year application process.
- Maintains and publishes an online inventory of approved miscellaneous student fees.
- Informs CACSSF of any fees that are reported to be out of compliance with this policy.
Academic Departments and Administrative and Student Service Units
- Adhere to the principles stated above.
- Follow the procedures outlined in the appendix.
- Develop a mechanism for students to provide feedback on the proposed miscellaneous fee. Examples of ways to solicit student feedback include user survey, web-based feedback form, suggestion box, input from existing student groups or the Committee on Student Fees, or a published contact person, phone number and email address.
Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees
- Reviews requests to establish, increase, decrease or discontinue miscellaneous student fees.
- Recommends to the Chancellor which requests should be approved, denied or returned for further review.
- Ensures all miscellaneous student fees being collected comply with this policy.
Committee on Student Fees and Budget Review
- Reviews requests to establish, increase, decrease or discontinue miscellaneous student fees.
- Makes recommendations to the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees.
Procedures
Review and approval process
Step 1: Department consults broadly with students prior to submitting a proposal. Student consultation may occur through existing student advisory groups, associations, formal review committees or via a comment period following an official communications to students that would be impacted.
Step 2: Department submits proposal with the appropriate Vice Chancellor, Vice Provost or Dean approval to the campus Budget Office.
Step 3: The Budget Office forwards proposals for review to the Committee on Student Fees and Budget Review (CSF) for student input.
Step 4: CSF provides input to the Budget Office.
Step 5: The Budget Office presents fee requests, analysis and CSF recommendations to the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees (CACSSF).
Step 6: CACSSF recommends which requests should be approved or denied. CACSSF may instruct the Budget Office to return the request to the Department for additional information.
Step 7: The Budget Office documents CACSSF input and submits recommendations to the Chancellor.
Step 8: The Chancellor determines which fees to approve, deny or return for further review.
Step 9: Upon receiving notification from the Chancellor, the Budget Office will inform departments, CSF and CACSSF and update the online inventory.
Fee collection
- Departments should abide by campus best practices for waiver of miscellaneous student fees for economic hardship as outlined in the Appendix.
- Departments will be responsible for collecting applicable sales tax at the point of sale for tangible goods and transferring the collected tax to central accounting for remittance. Questions about whether or not sales tax applies to a particular miscellaneous student fee should be directed to the Budget Office, who will seek guidance from legal counsel on campus and at the Office of the President. The Budget Office will report back to CACSSF, or a subcommittee designated by CACSSF, on the applicability of sales tax to any miscellaneous student fee.
Fee communication
- The Budget Office will maintain and publish an online inventory of approved miscellaneous student fees.
Monitoring of existing miscellaneous student fees
- The Committee on Student Fees and Budget Review will periodically review all miscellaneous student fees, particularly those that have been in place for a long time, and will provide a summary of the analysis to the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees.
- Anyone who believes that a department or unit may not be in compliance with this policy is encouraged to contact the Committee on Student Fees (hyperlink to be added) or the campus Budget Office.
Glossary (pending)
Keyword Index (pending)
Related Documents
- UCOP Delegation of Authority: Control over Miscellaneous Student Fees, Service Charges and Deposits
- Berkeley Campus Course Materials Fee Policy: Establishment and Budgetary Review
Appendix
- Student Fee Types (attached)
- Miscellaneous Student Fee Request Form and Instructions (pending)
- Best Practices for Waiver of Miscellaneous Student Fees for Economic Hardship (pending)
Revision History August 22, 2013
- On Page 1, the contact information was changed from Laurent Heller, lheller@berkeley.edu, 510/642-5736, to Hugh Graham, hgraham@berkeley.edu, 510/642-0337
- On Page 2 under Campus Budget Office responsibilities, the frequency of the application cycle was changed from two cycles per year to one.
- On Page 3 under Fee collection, a second bullet point was added regarding applicability of sales tax.