Dean's Advisory Course Fee Committee

PURPOSE:

To provide guidelines and procedures for:

  1. Committee membership and appointments

  2. Meeting activities

  3. Changes in course fee rates

  4. Changes in course fee expenditures

APPLIES TO:

The School of Business Dean’s Advisory Course Fee Committee

CONTENTS:

  1. Membership

  2. Appointments

  3. Meeting frequency and purpose

  4. Process for recommending or approving a change in course fees

  5. Process for recommending or approving a change in course fee expenditures

POLICY STATEMENT:

In 2004 the students of the School of Business approved course fees (previously called differential tuition) with the primary purpose of hiring sufficient faculty to allow the School to offer a variety of majors and otherwise improving educational opportunities and support services for business students. Consistent with guidelines in the course fee approval process, course fees have primarily been employed to pay for faculty, provide experiential learning activities, improve student advising and career services, and provide student assistantships and scholarships.

The initial course fee guidelines also mandated a Dean’s advisory committee to monitor ongoing course fee collections and expenditures to ensure that they continue to be adequate to maintain the services made possible by the fees and that they are used to enhance students’ experiences and opportunities. This policy specifies the scope and operations of the course fee committee.

1. Membership

The Course Fee Committee consists of:

  • The Dean of the School of Business or his/her representative

  • The Associate Dean(s) (non-voting unless representing the Dean)

  • Two faculty members from, or appointed by the Faculty Advisory Committee

  • The School of Business Director of Finance

  • The chair of the Dean’s Board of Advisors or his/her representative

  • The president of the Undergraduate Business Council or his/her representative

  • The president of the MBAA or his/her representative

  • The president of the MAcc Student Association or his/her representative

  • The president of the Association of Business Doctoral Students or his/her representative

  • A representative from the Edwards Campus BBA program

  • A representative from the Working Professional MBA or MAcc Programs

  • A representative from the Business Minor program.

When making membership decisions, leaders are encouraged to consider the value of having continuity on the committee.

2. Appointment process:

At the end of each academic year the leaders of the various organizations will either indicate that they will serve or will provide the name of their designee. Students in the Business Minor and BBA programs will be identified by the Undergraduate Director and students in the Working Professional MBA or MAcc programs will be identified by the MBA or MAcc Director. The Dean’s office will contact student representatives to orient new members to the purpose and history of the committee.

3. Meeting frequency, purpose, and preparation

At least one meeting will be held in early fall each year in order to provide timely input to University administration for the determination of the course fee rate for the following year. Members of the committee may call for additional meetings as necessary.

Prior to the meeting, each committee member will receive:

  • course fee collections and expenditures for the year just ended and previous years

  • the Dean’s recommendation for the current year’s course fee expenditures

  • the Dean’s recommendation for the following year’s course fee rate (must be set a year in advance)

The purpose of the meetings is to:

  • review prior years’ course fee collections and expenditures

  • review the Dean’s proposed current year course fee expenditures and consider any proposed changes

  • discuss the Dean’s proposed future course fee rates and consider any proposed changes

4. Process for recommending or approving a change in course fee rates

The course fee is scheduled to increase automatically based on a schedule determined by the KU Budget Office. After reviewing the Dean’s recommendation, past collections, expected enrollments, projected needs, and affordability of the School’s programs, the committee may vote to confirm or recommend that the course fee amount for the next year be adjusted from the scheduled amount. Any member of the committee may propose a motion to recommend an adjustment to the fee.

If the motion is passed by a vote of the committee, the vote and the rationale for it will be carefully considered by the Dean, and the KU Budget Office, to determine whether the proposed adjustment is feasible. The final decision rests with KU Budget Office. The decision and rationale will be reported to the committee.

5. Process for recommending a change in course fee expenditures

As noted previously, the guiding principle for course fee expenditures is that they benefit the students. Student benefits are defined broadly and include, but are not limited to, the cost of instructional faculty, career services, advising, support staff, student assistantships, student groups, and scholarships.

After reviewing the Dean’s recommendation, past expenditures, and projected needs, the committee may vote to confirm or recommend changes in the allocation of expected course fees from historical or proposed patterns. Any member of the committee may propose a motion to recommend adjustment of the allocation.

If the motion is passed by a vote of the committee, the vote and the rationale for it will be carefully considered by the Dean’s office to determine whether the adjustment is feasible. The final decision rests with the Dean. The decision and rationale will be reported to the committee.