Student Fee Request Form Instructions

The Student Fee Request Form is designed to streamline the process by which departments submit their yearly student fee requests. It is to be used for the submission of all student fee requests, regardless of whether or not the fee amount has changed from the previous year.

After an individual has logged into the form using their Onyen and password, a listing of all fee requests from previous years submitted by anyone from that individual’s department is displayed. Individuals may only edit non-reviewed requests that they have submitted, but the details of any submitted request may be viewed by anyone from that individual’s department.

To submit a new fee request during the submission cycle, simply click the “Add a New Fee Request” button OR click the “Copy” icon next to the corresponding fee request from the previous year. A description of the form fields on each of the three pages of this form is provided below.

Academic Year:

The academic year for which this request applies. The fall semester of the chosen year will likely be about a year from the current date.

Organization Unit:

The campus organization unit under which your department falls. Most fee request preparers will only have one organization unit.

Department:

The specific department, based on a six-digit code, to which the fee request preparer belongs. Most fee request preparers will only have one department.

Fee Request Category:

The category under which this fee request can be classified. Fee request categories are as follows:

General
Student Activity Fee
Debt
Application
Special
Miscellaneous

Fee Request Type:

Based on the fee request category chosen, a more specific method of classifying this fee request.

Fee Description:

The official name of the fee. If the fee was in place in the previous year, the fee description must match that description. If this is a new fee, insert the requested description for the new fee.

Fee Summary:

One to two sentences to describe the purpose of the fee. This description may appear on a student’s account.

Request for a new fee or a modification to an existing fee:

Choose No as an answer if the fee amount and supporting information is unchanged from the previous year. Otherwise, choose Yes.

Contact Person for This Request:

Find the person in the campus directory who can best answer any questions about this request.

Entering Data and Formulas

Fee amounts must be entered in dollars and cents. Financial activity should be entered in whole dollars.

Requested Annual Fee:

The new total annual fee requested for the upcoming academic year. This amount must equal the annual fee for the most recent year plus the annual increase requested for the new academic year.

Increase Requested:

The requested annual increase for the upcoming academic year. This is the increase amount the subcommittee will consider during its discussions. If this fee has been entered for previous years, the increase requested will be calculated automatically.

Preferred Chartfield:

The preferred chartfield from the University’s financial system where the fee activity is recorded. This chartfield may change if the fee request is approved.

Revenues and Expenditures – Previous Years:

For fees that have been previously entered, update projected revenues and expenditures for the fiscal years which are shown and set the “actual/projected” status accordingly. For “Projected” statuses, use the best estimate of actual revenues to be collected. Records must be maintained to support the financial projections. Where the fiscal activity for the student fee is in a separate account, the amounts should agree with the University’s financial system. If the funds are co-mingled with other funds that support different program activities, these numbers should still be traceable to the accounts in the University’s financial system where the student fee funds are recorded. For example, a spreadsheet should be maintained for the global account that shows the activity related to fees in one column and the activity related to non-fee activities in a second column with the total of the two agreeing with balances in University’s financial system. If this is a new fee, these will not appear.

Revenues and Expenditures – Projected Financial Activity for New Academic Year – Without Requested Increase:

Enter the projected revenues and expenditures for next fiscal year assuming the fee is not approved. The current year’s projected revenues may serve as the best estimate of the projected revenues that may result if the fee increase is not approved in the new academic year. If expenses are not expected to vary significantly (e.g. the preparer does not expect a significant increase in the personnel expense line for the coming year), this column may list the expenses projected in the current year. If the program area believes expenditures will increase significantly (e.g. a considerable personnel cost increase), the preparer should consider reflecting those costs in the appropriate expense lines so subcommittee members can see the impact on the unit should the fee request not be approved. If this is a new fee, all lines will be zero unless “Other Revenues” are used to support the program activities and the unit is now requesting that student fees support existing activities.

Revenues and Expenditures – Projected Financial Activity for New Academic Year – With Requested Increase:

Enter the projected revenues and expenditures for next fiscal year assuming the fee is approved. See “Revenues” for assistance in calculating the revenue amounts for this column. In the expenditure section, the preparer should include the effect of inflation on its existing costs, the costs of expanding the current level of services to new students, and the costs of new program activities, if any.

Beginning and Ending Fund Balance:

The “Beginning Fund Balance” figure in any column must agree with the “Ending Fund Balance” figure for the previous column. The “Beginning Fund Balance” and “Ending Fund Balance” will be calculated automatically and may be updated by clicking the “Update Totals” button.

Revenues:

The “Fee Revenue” line represents funds generated solely from the student fee. Non-fee revenues supporting the program activities, if any, should be entered on the “Other Revenues” line. The revenue section should only include revenues supporting the program activities described on the fee form.

The “Fee Revenue” amount for the next fiscal year under the column labeled “With Requested Increase” must equal the “Requested Annual Fee” amount at the top of the page divided by two, multiplied by the “Fall and Spring Counts”, plus the “Summer Credit Hours” multiplied by the summer rate.

Counts Used in Revenue Projections – Regular Term:

Please select either FTE or Headcount from the drop-down box. The student count is the number for fall and spring headcount for the respective fee area. If this is a new fee, please contact the Director of Student Accounts and University Receivables at 919-962-1368 for the correct count.

Counts and Rates Used in Revenue Projections – Summer Term:

The student count is the number for summer school credit hours as listed for the respective fee area. The summer school per credit hour fee rate is the figure provided by the Cashier’s Office. If this is a new fee, please contact the Director of Student Accounts and University Receivables at 919-962-1368 for the correct count and rate.

Expenditures:

Personnel – All expenses related to personnel compensation, including: EHRA and SHRA salaries, SHRA longevity, overtime, premium payments, student employee wages, temporary employee wages, fringe benefits, contracted services. The personnel line cannot include faculty and administrative salaries and benefits.
Supplies and Materials– Non-personnel expenses for cleaning supplies, food products, repair and motor vehicle supplies, office supplies, paper products, and purchases for resale.
Current Services – Non-personnel expenses for travel, communication, utilities, printing services, repairs and maintenance, freight and express charges, advertising, and data processing.
Fixed Charges – Non-personnel expenses for rental contracts, maintenance contracts, and insurance.
Capital Outlay – Expenses for non-consumable equipment, including office equipment, electronic data processing equipment, and motor vehicles.
Student Financial Aid – Expenses for scholarships, grants and other financial aid.
Other – Funds classified as transfers, reserves and non-operating expenses.

Net Transfers:

Positive or negative transfers for funds related to this fee.

Other Explanation:

Provide a brief explanation of “Other” expenditures in the box provided. They are required by the UNC system office. If you have “transfers,” please explain to where the funds are being transferred and for what reason.

Position FTEs Currently Funded:: Enter the number of positions currently funded by the fee. If positions are not paid for from fee revenues, enter a zero. Please remember faculty and administrative salaries and benefits cannot be funded from student fees. These counts should only reflect positions providing direct program activities.
Position FTEs Funded if Increase is Approved:: Enter the number of positions that will be funded by the fee if approved. If positions are not paid for from fee revenues, enter a zero. Please remember faculty and administrative salaries and benefits cannot be funded from student fees. These counts should only reflect positions providing direct program activities.
New Positions Explanation:: Provide detailed descriptions and responsibilities of any new positions that will be created by this increase.
Justification for Increase:: Enter a description of existing or proposed fee and a justification for the requested fee increase, if any. The text entered in the space provided should only be an executive summary to be provided to the UNC system office. If you required additional space for your justification, please attach separate documents. The narrative must be sufficient to provide an ongoing history of the fee’s purpose and changes to the fee over time. The narrative must fully describe the program activities that will be supported by the new student fee or increases to the existing student fee. Where more than one program activity will be supported by a new fee or fee increase, a breakdown of the fee amounts supporting the various program activities should be provided as practicable. For example, if approved, a $20.00 increase to an existing fee will be expensed as follows – $12.00 on “Program A” and $8.00 on “Program B”.
Effect on Overall Student Experience:: Provide a description of the effect on the overall student experience if the fee increase request is denied.