COP 04-0302: Establishment and Revision of Student Tuition and Fees

Purpose Statement

Tuition and Fee standards are established by Florida Statute and approved by the Florida SouthWestern State College District Board of Trustees and are communicated both internally and externally to ensure the proper collection and reporting of revenue.

Guidelines

This procedure applies to all tuition and fees charged by the College to both students and non-students.

Procedures

1. Student Tuition
   1. Standard tuition rates related to credit and credit hour equivalent instruction are prescribed by Florida Statute.
   2. The Florida SouthWestern State College District Board of Trustees may establish tuition rates that vary no more than 10 percent below and 15 percent above the standard tuition as prescribed by the State. Proposed tuition rates for the following academic year are published in the College's Annual Operating Budget for approval by the Board of Trustees. The approved tuition rates will be effective with the fall term unless the proposed fees are approved for a different amount by the Legislature. If the Legislature approves different fee amounts, the Vice President of Operations/Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will notify the President of the fee revisions. The President will make a recommendation pertaining to tuition rate revisions to be presented to the Board of Trustees.
2. Student Fees Authorized by Statute
   1. Florida Statute Specifically Authorized Fees
      • ​​​​​Florida Statutes authorize the following fees:
        1. Financial Aid Fee [§1009.23(8)]
        2. Student Activity and Service Fee [§1009.23(7)]
        3. Capital Improvement Fee [§1009.23(11)]
        4. Other User Fees [§1009.23(12), §1009.22(9)]
        5. Distance Learning Course Fee [§1009.23(16)]
        6. Technology Fee [§1009.23(10)]
      • The Vice President of Operations/CFO, in conjunction with the President's Cabinet, will make a recommendation pertaining to revisions to the above fees, generally through the proposed Operating Budget, to the President for presentation to the District Board of Trustees.
   2. Other Fees
      • The Board may establish user fees and fines in addition to tuition for courses and other instructional and non-instructional services. User fees include, parking fees and fines, library fees and fines, fees and fines relating to facilities and equipment use or damage, access or identification cards, duplicating, photocopying, binding, microfilming, testing, diploma replacement, transcript, graduation, application, late fees related to registration and payment and lab fees. These user fees shall not exceed the cost of services provided and shall only be charged to persons receiving the service.
      • Lab/Course fees are assessed to courses or programs and are defined as any and all variable costs associated with the conveyance of instruction that exceed the direct cost of the instructor's salary and benefits and the use of existing College facilities in which the instruction takes place. The lab/course fee must support the direct instruction specific to a course and/or program. These costs include, but are not limited to:
        1. Personnel costs above and beyond the direct cost of the instructor's salary and benefits
        2. Consumable goods and services
        3. Cost of additional instructional support services incurred by the College from third-party providers
        4. Costs incurred by the College on behalf of the student
        5. Cost of equipment, software, licenses, maintenance and associated support costs provided to the student
      • The Academic Schools perform course fee reviews every other year. The Office of Budget and Financial Planning provides each Dean a listing of all courses along with a staffing plan. The Dean will then work with appropriate staff and faculty to identify the goods/services the course fees will be used for. Course enrollments will be projected by the Office of Budget and Financial Planning based on past trends and future enrollment projections. The Office of Budget and Financial Planning will review all worksheets once completed by the Deans and will present all changes to the Provost for approval before including them in the budget book.
      • New courses that require a fee or courses that have been deleted from the catalog can be requested each year, even if the School in which the course falls under is not up for review during the specific year.
      • The Distance Learning Course fee will be reviewed every year to ensure the amount charged does not exceed the additional costs of the services provided which are attributable to the development and delivery of the distance learning course, as prescribed in Florida statute.
      • All fees require Board approval prior to assessing the fee.
   3. Continuing Education
      • Contract Instruction
        • The college may enter into a contract with an external agency or company for instructional courses and programs at rates that vary from the college's approved credit and credit hour equivalent tuition fees. Contracted instructional fees must generate revenue at least equal to the full cost of such instruction. The Continuing Education Department will negotiate fees for each course that takes into account the full cost of instruction. The courses and programs funded from these negotiated fees shall not be reported for state funding purposes.
      • Recreation and Leisure
        • Recreational and leisure time instructional fees must generate revenue at least equal to the full cost of such instruction which takes into account the full cost of instruction and the minimum class size necessary to recover such costs. Approval of such fees has been delegated by the District Board of Trustees to the Vice President of Operations/CFO. Recreational and leisure time course fees are published in the Continuing Education Catalog.
3. Notification of Tuition and Fee Increases and Board Approval
   The Office of Budget and Financial Planning will work with the appropriate college departments to publicly notice and notify all enrolled students of any increases to tuition and fees at least 28 days before its consideration at the June Board of Trustees meeting.
   
   All fees must be approved by the Board before they can be imposed. The Board may approve tuition and fees in conjunction with their approval of the Annual Budget and Operating Plans for the upcoming fiscal period. The Board may also approve fees presented at any District Board of Trustees meeting. Upon Board approval of a fee or fee revision, the Vice President of Operations/CFO will notify the Provost, either through distribution of the approved Annual Operating Budget or otherwise in writing, of the new and or deleted fees, as well as all tuition and fee changes.
   
   The Annual Operating Budget is posted on the College website once approved by the Board of Trustees.
4. Updating Fees in the College's Administrative System
   The Bursar's Office is solely responsible for updating all fees in the college's registration and billing system (Banner). No other college staff is permitted to make any fee changes without written approval of the President or designee.
5. Fee Schedule and Fee Verification
   The Bursar's Office will be responsible for updating the College website with the most current fee schedule.
   
   The Bursar will perform an audit of several student accounts prior to the beginning of Fall term to verify that the correct student fees are being charged. Any deviations from the approved tuition and fee amounts will be corrected immediately.