November 22, 2000
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Fee Policies Related to Expanded Summer Instruction1
Applicability of These Policies
The policies stated in this document apply only to fees charged in general campus programs. There will be no change to current practice for programs in the health sciences.
These policies, both transitional and long-term, will apply only to fees charged to UC students. Campuses may continue to set fees for non-UC students as they have in the past, consistent with the 1975 Guidelines Governing Summer Session Operations (http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/coordrev/da/da0499att.html).
Long-term Intent
Three policies for general campus summer instruction are to be implemented over the long run:
Transitional Period Policies
A transition period will be in effect as the University moves to full State funding, during which time summer fees can be treated flexibly in order to encourage students to attend during the summer and enable campuses to develop an appropriate level of student services.
Campuses may not charge summer fees that exceed an amount equivalent to a per-unit fee level comparable to that charged during the regular academic year, but as an incentive to encourage summer enrollment, campuses may, on a temporary basis, charge fees lower than the appropriate per-unit fee level.
If a campus chooses to reduce summer fees as an incentive, it should simply charge the fee at the reduced level rather than charging the full fee and then waiving a portion. Ordinarily the waived amount would have to be funded from other sources. Any loss of revenue experienced by the campus as a result of the reduced fees will not be replaced by other fund sources.
Campuses will charge a consolidated summer fee rather than separate Educational and University Registration Fees to allow flexibility in the uses of student fee revenue. Chancellors will be responsible for determining the nature and level of student services necessary for summer operations.
A campus that has received full State summer funding will return at least one-third of summer fee revenue to an interim systemwide summer need-based aid pool. If a campus that has received full State summer funding implements incentives that reduce fees, its return-to-aid amount from summer fee revenue will be correspondingly reduced. Campuses that have not received full State funding will not contribute to the interim systemwide summer aid pool.
The fee structure for summer will be capped at 12 units for graduate students and 15 units for undergraduates, as it is now during the regular academic year, with the maximum dollar amount that may be assessed equal to the amount charged during the previous spring quarter.
4.
UC students enrolling in summer session at their home campuses will not be charged an application fee.
UC students enrolling at a UC campus other than their home campus may be charged a modest fee by the host campus to cover the administrative costs of admission and registration. Students will continue to pay the transcript fee for subsequent transfer of credit to their home campus.
At the campus's option, an application fee may be charged to non-UC students.
Chancellors have been delegated authority for establishing course materials fees and such fees can be established at the discretion of a Chancellor within the University's Guidelines for Implementing Course Materials Fees issued May 13, 1996 (http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/coordrev/da/da2115.html).
California law specifies the conditions under which a student enrolled at a California public institution of higher education may concurrently enroll in one course at another such institution without formal admission and, except for payment of a $10 administrative fee, without payment of additional fees. Currently, summer session courses are not available to students participating in this program because they are not State-supported.
When State support for summer instruction is implemented, participants in this program will be eligible to enroll concurrently in courses carrying UC credit. Participants would be limited to enrollment in one course and would have to meet the same conditions of eligibility as required in the current program. Participants in the program will not be eligible to enroll in summer courses that do not carry UC credit.
Participation in the cross-enrollment program during the regular academic year is modest and little change in participation rates is expected as a result of expanded summer instruction.
Existing student fee waiver or exemption programs will apply to the summer term as they do to the regular academic year. Examples of such programs include the Cal-Vet Fee Exemption program and fee reductions provided to employees and annuitants.
It is anticipated that each campus will examine the programs and services that are funded from campus-based fees to determine those that are essential to the operations of summer session or are in high demand during the summer. Each campus should determine whether services not now provided are needed during the summer and whether additional fee revenue from the campus-based fees is needed to support those services. If additional services or programs are necessary, the campus should calculate an appropriate prorated fee level to be charged during the summer term. Depending on the original Regental actions for these fees, campuses may need to seek approval from The Regents to charge prorated campus-based fees.
Currently, some campuses charge a summer session registration fee. This fee should not be confused with the University Registration Fee. Campuses may choose to continue to collect a summer registration fee in lieu of charging prorated campus-based fees (including debt-financed facility fees), but not in lieu of the portion of the consolidated fee that is equivalent to the University Registration Fee.
Campuses must ensure that student health insurance is provided for enrolled students for the full academic year regardless of how the fees are assessed to the students. Currently, the campuses assess students for 12 months of health insurance coverage using the campuses' existing term billing structure. For example, the Berkeley campus includes one-half of the student health insurance fee in the fall fee bill and the remaining half in the spring fee bill. Campus billing practices should be reviewed and new procedures developed as needed to ensure that students enrolled during the summer have the required insurance.
The subsidy from State-funded summer instruction will not be available to non-UC students, but these students may continue to enroll in summer session courses. The summer session fees charged to non-UC students will continue to be determined by the campuses. As in the past, summer session fees for non-UC students will need to cover the full cost of instruction and associated services.
Summer fee levels will be calculated according to Chart 1 (attached).
12.
Campuses will report annually on their transition period strategies for expanding summer enrollment including information on the academic programs offered, the number and academic rank of faculty teaching during the summer, the fee strategies employed, and the amount of foregone revenue due to implementation of incentives. In addition, the annual report will include information on the fee incentives to be implemented for the coming summer so that this information can be shared across campuses, to encourage the development of expanded summer programs while minimizing intercampus competition.
The University will evaluate these transitional strategies in 2005-06 to determine when the full fee policy may be implemented.