Mandatory Student Fee and Budget Review

The Georgia Institute of Technology Mandatory Student Fee Advisory Committee (“Committee”) is created to implement the provisions of Board of Regents Policy 7.3.2.1 and thereby to ensure student input on changes to mandatory student fees. The Committee shall make recommendations to the President on changes to existing mandatory student fees or on any new mandatory fees. Fees considered by the Committee shall exclude elective fees that are paid by the students who choose to receive specific services. “Mandatory student fees” are defined in the Board of Regents' Policy manual as follows: “… fees that are assessed to all students, all undergraduate students, or all full-time undergraduate students on one or more campuses of a USG institution.”

Committee Members

The Committee shall be composed of twelve voting members selected as follows:

• Eight students appointed by the Graduate and Undergraduate Presidents of the Student Government Associations (SGA);
• Two faculty members appointed by the Provost;
• The Executive Director, Institute Budget Planning and Administration (IBPA), or his/her appointee (permanent member of Committee);
• One additional staff member appointed by the Executive Vice President, Administration and Finance (EVP A&F).

The two faculty members and the second staff member shall serve two year terms. The Committee is co-chaired by one of the eight student members appointed by the SGA Presidents and by the Executive Director, IBPA or his/her appointee. The IBPA Office provides staff assistance to the Committee and submits the required documentation to the BOR in support of Georgia Tech’s fee recommendations.

In addition, there shall be non-voting, ex officio members of the Committee as follows, unless these individuals are appointed as part of the twelve voting members. The ex-officio student Committee members shall be the Presidents of the Graduate and Undergraduate Student Government Associations, the Editor of The Technique, the Vice President for Finance and Chair of the Joint Finance Committee, and any other students appointed by the Student Government Association Presidents. Ex-officio faculty and staff Committee members shall be the Vice President for Student Life, the Vice President for Campus Services, and up to two faculty or staff appointed by the Provost or Executive Vice President, Administration and Finance.  Ex-officio members may fully participate in all business of the Committee except that they shall not have voting privileges. 

Fees Reviewed by Committee

Below are the fees for which the Committee provides recommendations to the President, along with the organizations that provide recommendations to the Committee:

• Technology Fee – Technology Fee Committee (for recommendations on total fee amount only and not on projects to be funded)
• Transportation Fee – Parking and Transportation Advisory Committee
• Student Health Fee – Student Health Advisory Committee
• Student Activity Fee – Student Government Association
• CRC (Campus Recreation Center) Operations Fee – CRC Advisory Committee
• Student Center Operations Fee – Student Center Advisory Board
• Athletic Fee – Georgia Tech Athletic Association
• Recreation Fee – covers debt service on Campus Recreation Center (fixed fee for term of lease on CRC).

In addition to input from the advisory organizations listed, the SGA is encouraged to solicit input on mandatory fees from students through other means, including surveys and town hall meetings. Excluded from the Committee’s review are any “general purpose fees” approved by the BOR, as stated in BOR policy 7.3.2.1. Other offices or student organizations also may propose new fees to the Committee. It would be up to the Committee Co-Chairs and the SGA presidents whether such proposals are to be considered.

Committee Operations

The Committee is responsible for reviewing proposals for rate changes to current mandatory student fees and any newly proposed mandatory fees, and to review budgets funded from the fees. Following its review and votes on the fees, the Committee provides its recommendations to the Georgia Tech president, who submits the requests to the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia for review and final consideration by the Board of Regents. The Georgia Tech president’s recommendations to the Chancellor may differ from the Committee’s recommendations.

The following guidelines shall govern voting by the MSFAC:

1. The Committee votes on all mandatory fees, whether changes are proposed or not, and on proposals to add any new fees or to reduce existing fees.
2. Where a staff Committee member works in a program funded through a fee, he or she must recuse him/herself from the vote on that particular fee.
3. When a Committee member is absent from a meeting, a substitute may be requested for that member, subject to approval of the co-chairs.
4. In no case shall the number of voting student members at a meeting fall below one-half of the total voting Committee members.

The Committee meeting schedule must provide recommendations to the President in sufficient time for submission of proposals to the Chancellor in accordance with the BOR calendar. Accordingly, the Committee should strive to complete its review and prepare a preliminary recommendation prior to the end of the fall semester. The staff chair will coordinate with BOR staff to ensure that fee recommendations are made on a timely basis. Submitting organizations are responsible for preparing the forms required by the BOR and by Georgia Tech to support fee submissions, with the assistance of the Office of Institute Budget Planning and Administration.

For each mandatory fee program the submission shall include the following documents for review by the Committee.  These shall be available to the members in advance of committee meetings. 

• Overview of the fee, including the following: (a) current and proposed fee levels, (b) the previous year’s revenue generated, (c) the fee review/advisory organization, and (d) the current uses of the revenue’
• All required BOR forms, including the fee request form, financial data form, and detail of revenue projection’
• Presentation that includes the following:
  • Detailed description of services provided, including utilization data
  • Budget summary for the current and following fiscal year
  • Fee increase request, if appropriate, with a description of how the students will benefit from the increase and the impact if the increase is not approved
  • If there was a fee increase for the current year, how the new funding is being used, compared to the proposal to the prior year’s Committee
  • How the program has either generated cost savings or additional revenue outside of the student fee and, if requested by the Committee, how the program would absorb a reduction in the student fee;
  • Evidence of students’ satisfaction in the services provided by the unit.