Develop and Manage State Fees

Guidlines for Fee Approvals

Regardless of funding source, any service provided or good sold on campus must have an approved fee on file
If units identify any source of revenue that does not currently have an approved rate on file, please contact an expert for assistance
SUNY’s Fees, Rentals, and Other Charges Policy states:

"In the event that a fee is imposed upon students without following the guidelines set forth within this policy, funds collected shall be refunded to the payee in full upon request made to the campus involved or by directive from System Administration. Requests for refunds must be made within three years of the collection of the fee."

Steps in the Fee Development and Approval Process

Download the applicable approval form (service center, university).
Contact an expert to set up an initial consultation (if desired).
Complete the initial questionnaire tab within the form and provide to Financial Management.
Financial Management in collaboration with the department completes calculations and provides worksheets for review.
Work with managers to finalize rate calculations.
Once rates are agreed upon (managers, Financial Management), the approval process can begin.
The approval process begins within Financial Management then the documents are submitted to the following for approval:
1. Departmental
  1. Manager (service center, university fee contact)
  2. Department chair
  3. Unit Business Officer (UBO)
2. University Controller
3. Provost Designee
4. SUNY (when applicable)

Which Type of Fee Do You Want to Assess?

Fee Type	Fee Purpose
University Fee	All non-service center fees on campus. Three distinct categories based on level of approval required: SUNY Board of Trustee Approved SUNY Chancellor Approved Campus Approved
State - Service Center Fee	Organizations that provide specific technical or administrative services to support the internal operations of the university. Recovers the cost of its operations through fees charged to users.
RF -Service Center Fee

Fee Type

Fee Purpose

University Fee

All non-service center fees on campus.
Three distinct categories based on level of approval required:

SUNY Board of Trustee Approved
SUNY Chancellor Approved
Campus Approved

State - Service Center Fee

Organizations that provide specific technical or administrative services to support the internal operations of the university.
Recovers the cost of its operations through fees charged to users.

RF -Service Center Fee

Fee Process Calendar

July to September

Action	Due Date ^1,2	Office Responsible	Fee Type	Description
Winter Fee Review	July 15th	Department	University	Winter Fees submitted to Financial Management for review
Winter Fee Approval	August 15th	Financial Management	University	Winter Fees submitted to Resource Planning for approval
Spring Only Fee review	August 15th	Department	University	Spring Fees submitted to Financial Management for review
Winter Fee SUNY Approval	September 1st	Resource Planning	University	Winter Fees submitted to SUNY for approval

September to December

Action	Due Date ^1,2	Office Responsible	Fee Type	Description
Winter Fee SUNY Approval	September 1st	Resource Planning	University	Winter Fees submitted to SUNY for approval
Spring Fee Approval	September 15th	Financial Management	University	Spring Fees submitted to Resource Planning for approval
Annual Review	July - October 15	Department	Service Centers	Service Centers perform annual break-even analysis, to determine if rates need to be adjusted.
Fall/Spring Academic Review	July-October 15	Department	University and Service Center (where applicable)	Annual update process for departments to submit fee changes for the following Fall/Spring academic year
Spring Fee SUNY Approval	October 1st	Resource Planning	University	Spring Fees submitted to SUNY for approval
Fall/Spring Fee Review	October 15th	Department	University and Service Center (where applicable)	Fee proposals for the following Fall/Spring academic year submitted to Financial Management for review
Fall/Spring Fee Approval	December 31st	Financial Management	University and Service Center (where applicable)	Fall/Spring Fees submitted to Resource Planning for approval

January - March

Action	Due Date ^1,2	Office Responsible	Fee Type	Description
Fall/Spring Final Fee Approval	January-April	Resource Planning	University and Service Center (where applicable)	Fees included in the ARPP three year plan workbook and reviewed during the ARPP process.
Summer Fee Review	February 15th	Department	University	Summer Fees submitted to Financial Management for review
Summer Fee Approval	March 15th	Financial Management	University	Summer Fees submitted to Resource Planning for approval

April Thru June

Action	Due Date ^1,2	Office Responsible	Fee Type	Description
Summer Fee SUNY Approval	April 1st	Resource Planning	University	Summer Fees submitted to SUNY for approval
Fall Fee SUNY Approval	May 1st	Resource Planning	University	Fall Fees submitted to SUNY for approval
Fall/Spring Fee Approval Notifications	May	VPFA & Provost	University and Service Center (where applicable)	Fees receive final approval and notification sent from VP Finance & Administration and Provost. New Fees are established in HUB.
Fee Invoicing	June ³	Student Accounts	University	New Fees added to the billing process for the next academic year
Fee Invoicing	July 1st	Department	Service Centers (where applicable)	First date fees can be assessed for new academic year
Fees Are Effective	July 1st ³	Student Accounts	University	First date fees can be assessed for new academic year

1. If fees need to be advertised before the due dates to Financial Management, the fees will need to be submitted for approval accordingly in advance of these due dates.

2. Summer and winter session fees have due date flexibility if they do NOT need SUNY approval.

3. For SUNY approved fees these dates are estimated and could be delayed based on SUNY's approval.

4. Please note that not all service center fees need to follow these dates and can be developed or updated as time permits.

*Fees containing a MOU, contract, central investment, a new international or domestic program, a new department, or new building may have additional requirements for review. Please contact your Resource Analyst for guidance.

Download Printable Calendar

Download Annual Fee Process Calendar

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Develop and Manage a University Fee

First time creating a university fee?

Please contact a fee expert for an initial consultation to help you get started.

Best Practices for Managing Fees

An annual review of cost vs. fees assessed should be conducted.
A new account should be established for each new fee.
Utilize the Student eBilling process when applicable for invoicing student-related fees. For course-related fees indicate ALL courses this fee should be charged to.
Utilize the ePay process for collection of other applicable charges.
Utilize SIRI to review fee revenue (SIRI/Money/IFR account/IFR Fees).
If there is a difference between requested fee rate and total projected fee to recover the cost, explain the subsidy.

Complete the University Fee Approval Request Form

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Develop and Manage a Service Center Fee

Service centers provide services that support the internal operations of the university or can provide services to external users. Their main purpose is to recover the costs of its operations through charges to users.