Frequently Asked Questions : Student Fees

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a general fee?
How does the general fee contribute to student success?
How does the general fee help me at IUPUI?
What is the General Fee Advisory Board?
What criteria guide the distribution of the General Fee?
If I have a question or comment, whom do I contact?

What is a general fee?

A general fee provides revenue to support services, programs, facilities, and materials that cannot be supported through tuition or state appropriation funding. These services, programs, facilities, and materials help you to succeed as a student and contribute to a positive learning environment on campus. This fee is also known as an incidental fee at some other universities, and the programs, services, and facilities that the fee funds are often referred to as auxiliaries. All students whether graduate, professional or undergraduate pay the general fee. For more information on tuition and fees, please see the Office of Student Accounts Services website at http://www.bursar.iupui.edu/forms/ApprovedFeesQuickv2.pdf.

How does the general fee contribute to student success?

At state-supported colleges and universities, the state legislatures usually place restrictions on how tuition dollars and state appropriation funds can be spent. These funds are usually limited to direct and indirect support of the instructional mission of the institution. State and tuition money, therefore, is used to support classroom buildings, faculty, academic advisors, and general administration functions such as admissions, registrar, advising, central operations and the like. However, students on campuses need supporting other areas in order to be successful and to experience a full and dynamic campus life.

That's where general or incidental fees come in. Every state college or university has general fees in addition to tuition that support the institution's mission and enhance the quality of life for students. These fees pay for many of the in-direct and direct services to students that are not specific to instruction. Examples of these areas include providing health and counseling; offering leadership opportunities through student organizations and student government; ensuring a dynamic and vibrant campus through a variety of student activities and events outside the classroom, such as Intercollegiate athletics, club sports, intramurals, wellness/fitness centers, and student unions.

How does the general fee help me at IUPUI?

Here are some examples of how the general fee helps you here at IUPUI.

Funds the individual school councils to support student organizations, events, and activities specific to the academic majors in the respective schools.
Provides Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
Subsidizes Student Health Services to provide physician and nurse practitioner health care to students.
Funds a portion of University Information Technology System (UITS) in order to provide students and the campus with appropriate and up-to-date technology such as broadband and wireless support.
Funds the Student Activities Programming Board and the Student Development Funding Committee. Student members of these committees award funds to other students and to student organizations for programming and events.
Supports the Intercollegiate Athletic Program, providing students with free tickets / entrance to athletic competitions on campus and discounted tickets when competitions are held at city venues such as Conseco Field House.
Supports the staffing of and activities conducted through the Office of Student Involvement such as Fraternity and Sorority Life, Leadership Development, civic engagement, service learning, and subsides for specialty events such as affinity dinners and heritage months.
Provides support for the Campus Center which includes debt service and operations.
Subsidizes a portion of the costs of the Center for Young Children to help student parents with small children.
Supports Undergraduate and Graduate/Professional Student Governments.
Funds the Educational Enhancement Grants for students.
Subsidizes intramural and recreational sports, including maintenance of the fields.
Escrows funds to provide a source for planning a new wellness-fitness center on campus. These funds would provide for travel to visit model wellness/fitness centers, commission a feasibility study, and other preliminary needs for planning.
Funds the S-Pass that provides free rides on the INDYGO bus lines.

What is the General Fee Advisory Board?

The General Fee Advisory Board, established in July of 2007, is composed of undergraduate and graduate students and selected administrators and faculty in order to provide advice on

Investing campus-wide mandatory fees to enhance student success and create a vibrant campus environment.
Improving student life by identifying and prioritizing student needs.
Developing and applying a philosophical framework for fee investment and allocation.
Improving campus climate for all students at IUPUI.

Students are appointed to the Board each year by the respective Presidents of the Undergraduate Student Government and the Graduate and Professional Student Government. For more information on the General Fee Advisory Board, please see http://www.iupui.edu/~fees/board.html.

What criteria guide the distribution of the General Fee?

The following criteria have been used to guide the General Fee Advisory Board as it reviews the current distribution and any new requests for the general fee funds:

Serve a large number of students
Be open to all students
Be accessible to ADA eligible student
Contribute to student recruitment, retention, and graduation
Increase student engagement
Build student community
Help meet identified student needs
Support programs, services, and facilities which have received General Fees in the past
Support unfunded mandates related to services, programs and facilities which are currently supported by the General Fee

These criteria are reviewed annually by the General Fee Advisory Board and may be modified within the philosophical framework.