Executive Sponsors

• Executive Vice President and Provost
• VP for Business Affairs and Chief Financial Officer

Members

• Associate Vice President, Academic Resources (Chair)
• CSUN Student Representative
• GPSA Student Representative
• Quality Assurance and Financial Compliance Representative
• Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives & Data
• Cashiering and Student Accounts Representative
• Financial Planning, Budgeting and Analysis Representative
• Registrar’s Office Representative
• Academic Effectiveness Representative

Support Staff (non-voting)

• Business & Finance Manager, Academic Resources
• Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Academic Resources

The Student Fee Committee aims to ensure student fees are fair, transparent, and responsibly managed. The goals outlined below emphasize a thorough review of student fees to determine whether they remain necessary, align with national best practices, comply with all applicable laws and policies, and to eliminate any fees that are outdated or that no longer directly benefit the students.

• Align student fee practices with nationwide best practices
• Ensure all student fees are spent in accordance with approved, allowable uses specific to each fee
• Ensure compliance with applicable state laws, NSHE Board of Regents policies, and UNLV policies and procedures
• Eliminate outdated or unnecessary Special Course Fees (SCFs), particularly those associated with courses not offered for three or more years

The Student Fee Committee oversees the annual review and approval process for student fees to ensure they are necessary, transparent, and aligned with university and NSHE guidelines. The committee evaluates new and existing fee requests with documented student input and forwards recommendations through university leadership for final approval.

Annual Timeline

January

• The call for fees and notification of the rolling three-year fee review are distributed to Deans, Vice Presidents, and the campus community.
• The call for fees aligns with the beginning of the self-supporting budget season. Colleges and schools are expected to review all existing student fees and fee account balances to determine whether each fee should be continued, revised, or discontinued.

February

• February 14: Units intending to submit new or revised student fee requests, via their dean’s office or Vice President, must notify the committee of their intent by emailing ar-feerequests@unlv.edu.

March

• Academic Resources and the UNLV community continue reviewing self-supporting budgets.
• Departments considering a new or increased fee should assess financial need and begin collecting student input through surveys or other engagement methods.
• Student involvement must be completed by the proposing area by May 1.

April

• Budget review continues.
• Departments finalize student input and complete drafting formal student fee proposals.

May

• May 1: Deadline for all student fee submissions, including:
  • New fee requests
  • Fee revisions (increases, decreases, change of use, terminations)
  • Rolling three-year review submissions
  • Mandatory training certifications for new, revised and rolling three- year review submissions
• All documentation and evidence of student involvement must be submitted by this date to be considered.
• Academic Resources reviews submissions and may request additional information in preparation for committee review.
• Late and incomplete submissions will not be considered.
• Note: Fee suspension requests are accepted year round.

June

• The Student Fee Committee meets to begin reviewing requests.
• Meetings with departments will be scheduled and completed no later than the end of July.
• Academic Resources will coordinate communication between departments and the committee.

July

• The committee meets again to score each fee request based on established criteria.

August

• Academic Resources submits the final draft recommendations to the Executive Vice President and Provost (EVP&P) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for review.

September

• The EVP&P submits final recommendations to the University President.
• The President has final approval authority for Special Course Fees of $50 or less and makes recommendations to the NSHE Board of Regents for all other fees.

October

● October 1: All fees requiring Board approval (Student Fees, Special Course Fees over $50, Differential Fees) are submitted to NSHE.
● Colleges are notified of the President’s decisions regarding which fees are advancing to the December Board of Regents meeting.

November

• Academic Resources coordinates with colleges to address any follow-up questions or finalize Board of Regents agenda materials.

December

● The NSHE Board of Regents reviews and makes final decisions on student fee requests.
● Colleges are notified of Board decisions. Approved fees will take effect the following fall semester.

In July, the Student Fee Committee scores the following new fee proposals and requests:

• Differential Program Fees
• Special Course Fees
• Other Student Fees

Conflict of Interest Policy

Committee members may not score any fee proposal submitted by their own department or unit but may evaluate and score fees from other areas.

Proposals not eligible for consideration include:

• Requests that duplicate or overlap existing fees (unless being separated out clearly)
• Fees from accounts listed on the high balance report

Scoring Considerations:

• Student involvement and documented support (related student population for all student feedback and minimum 50% positive response rate for surveys)
• Necessity and appropriateness of the fee (based on NSHE criteria)
• Time elapsed since the last fee increase
• Other relevant factors identified by the committee

Each fee will receive one of the following scores:

• Recommend
• Do Not Recommend

Committee members may include written comments to support their evaluations. These recommendations are forwarded to the EVP&P and CFO for final review.

Note: Residence Hall and Food Service rate updates are submitted annually and are not scored, but committee comments may still be submitted for consideration by the EVP&P and CFO.

In June, the committee reviews and scores existing student fees that fall within the rolling three-year review schedule.

Conflict of Interest Policy

As with new fee requests, members may not score fees from their own departments but may evaluate others.

Fees not eligible to continue:

• Fees found to be used inappropriately over the past three years
• Fees not adequately justified by the department/unit (ex. Low enrollment, cost not deemed extraordinary, etc.) will be suspended or terminated
• Special Course Fees for courses not offered in three or more years
• Fees associated with units that have not completed required student fee training

Scoring Considerations:

• Continued necessity and appropriateness of the fee
• Presence on the high fee account balance or negative cash reports
• Other factors as determined by the committee

Each fee will be scored as:

• Recommend
• Do Not Recommend

Scores and accompanying comments are forwarded to the EVP&P and CFO for review and action.

If you have questions regarding the time or process, please contact Academic Resources at ar-feerequests@unlv.edu.

Year One (FY26, FY29, FY32, FY35, FY38, FY41, FY44)

1. UNLV13 School of Law
2. UNLV06 School of Integrated Health Sciences
3. UNLV20 College of Fine and Performing Arts
4. UNLV25 Provost
5. UNLV27 School of Nursing
6. UNLV28 Libraries
7. UNLV34 Lee Business School
8. UNLV37 Police Services
9. UNLV39 VP Integrated Marketing and Branding
10. UNLV41 CFO UNLV Business Affairs
11. UNLV43 College of Education
12. UNLV49 President's Office
13. UNLV51 UNLV Human Resources
14. UNLV52 Division of Diversity

Year Two (FY27, FY30, FY33, FY36, FY39, FY42, FY45)

1. UNLV09 School of Dental Medicine
2. UNLV01 College of Sciences
3. UNLV03 College of Engineering
4. UNLV05 VP Research
5. UNLV07 Univ Wide-Facilities & Capital Projects
6. UNLV08 Student Wellness
7. UNLV29 Intercollegiate Athletics
8. UNLV32 Student Affairs
9. UNLV33 College of Liberal Arts
10. UNLV38 Shadow Lane Campus
11. UNLV42 Thomas and Mack Center
12. UNLV45 Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement
13. UNLV46 Student Life
14. UNLV50 Economic Development

Year Three (FY28, FY31, FY34, FY37, FY40, FY43, FY46)

1. UNLV40 UNLV Medical School
2. UNLV10 Office of Information Technology
3. UNLV12 Academic Success Center
4. UNLV14 Honors College
5. UNLV16 College of Hotel Administration
6. UNLV18 Graduate College
7. UNLV19 Division of Educational Outreach
8. UNLV21 Enrollment and Student Services
9. UNLV22 School of Public Health
10. UNLV23 Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach
11. UNLV24 Academic Affairs
12. UNLV35 Univ Wide- Controller
13. UNLV44 College of Urban Affairs
14. UNLV47 Univ Wide Programs

This process applies to student fees that require submission to the NSHE Board of Regents at their December meeting and include all of the student fees, unless otherwise noted, in the NSHE Procedures and Guidelines Manual Chapter 7, Sections 11-16.

The student fees are broken down into the following categories:

1. Differential Program Fees - These are fees for high cost and/or high demand programs charged in the form of a per course fee or per student credit hour for 300-level and above courses (with the exception of clinical and applied health programs only). Board of Regents Handbook Title 4, Chapter 17, Section 30 and NSHE Procedures and Guidelines Manual Chapter 7, Sections 7, 8 and 10.
2. Special Course Fees –These are fees specific to a course for extraordinary instruction costs, and are intended to be spent on the student in the semester the student pays the fee. The Board of Regents has delegated responsibility of approving Special Course Fees up to $50 to the Presidents. Special Course Fees higher than $50 require Board of Regents approval. Board of Regents Handbook Title 4, Chapter 17, Section 27 and NSHE Procedures and Guidelines Manual Chapter 7, Sections 7 and 12.
3. Student Fees - These are fees not directly related to the instruction of students registered for a specific course taken for a specific semester, but where the institution incurred a cost that is for a necessary student activity. These fees may apply to the campus as a whole, or a select portion of the student population, but must be spent only for their intended purposes approved by the Board of Regents. Board of Regents Handbook Title 4, Chapter 17, Section 25 and NSHE Procedures and Guidelines Manual Chapter 7, Sections 7 and 11.
4. Residence Hall and Food Service Rates - The Board of Regents approves residence hall and food service rates for all NSHE institutions. UNLV has committed to analyzing these rates annually to include a “fifth year rate” at each December Board meeting consistent with the predictive pricing mode enacted by the Board of Regents with the registration fee. Since these are required at the December Board meeting, these will not be scored (see scoring below). Board of Regents Handbook Title 4, Chapter 29 and NSHE Procedures and Guidelines Manual Chapter 7, Section 13.
5. Apartment Rentals - The Board of Regents approves rates charged for the Legacy LV apartments. Since these are required at the December Board meeting, these will not be scored (see scoring below). Board of Regents Handbook NSHE Board Policy Title 4, Chapter 17, Section 34.

The following student fees do not go through the Student Fee Committee, as they are either exceptions to NSHE Procedures and Guidelines Manual Chapter 7, Section 7 or have separate processes defined by NSHE Board Policy or in the NSHE Procedures and Guidelines Manual.

1. Professional School Registration Fees & Tuition – NSHE Board Policy Title 4, Chapter 17, Sections 1, 7, 8 and 9
2. UNLV Registration Fees and Nonresident Tuition Rates - Board of Regents Handbook Title 4, Chapter 17, Sections 1 and 6
3. Student Health Service and Health Insurance Fees - NSHE Manual Chapter 7, Section 7

Items for New Fee, Change of Use, Increase, Reduction

1. For any new requests for a Special Course Fee (SCF), a completed Special Course Fee Form with an itemized list of course expenses used to calculate the cost per student.
2. For any new requests for a Differential Fee, a completed Differential Fee proposal using the format outlined in the Differential Fees Form for New Programs along with a detailed five-year budget.
3. For any new requests for Student Fees, a complete fee proposal that includes a three-year detailed budget.
4. Existing fees requesting a change require a three year budget that includes:
   1. a detailed plan on the use of the revenue,
   2. the calculation of the annual incremental revenue generated from a change to the existing fee, and
   3. if there is a need to carry forward a balance over one year’s worth of revenue, there needs to be a clear spending plan showing the multi-year carry. This will be reviewed by the president, the chancellor, and regents per Board of Regents Handbook, Title 4, Chapter 10, Section 19: “Exceptions for anticipated capital, residence life operations, and equipment expenditures requiring a multi-year carry-forward may be approved by the president, in consultation with student government. Such exceptions, including a description and the justification for the reserves, must be reported to the Chancellor by September 30th of each year.” This is intended to be for rare exceptions only.
5. All new, increase and change of use requests for Student Fees, Differential Fees, or SCF, require documented student feedback from a representative group of students*.

*Student feedback for a special course fee may be limited to a survey of all students in the department or program while a student fee paid by all students requires a campus-wide survey or poll of students along with student government involvement.

Note: All student fee requests should provide clearly outlined allowable expenses.

1. The prior three years of budgets and expenses within Workday
2. Last three years of the annual Differential Fee report (Differential Fees only)
3. All Board-approved documents for fees that were approved by the NSHE Board of Regents
4. List of approved uses for the student fee
5. Proof of student fee training completion for all employees responsible for the student fee, including but not limited to all account managers, faculty program managers, faculty chairs, and the Dean.