Mandatory Supplementary Fees

The following general principles apply to course supplementary fees:

1. Tuition fees should provide for credit instruction, which includes the following:

• Evaluation of work/performance which includes practicums, marking of papers, examinations and other assignments.
• Laboratories which include laboratory assistance or supervision, laboratory materials or supplies, or supplies that remain the university’s property.
• Resources to support instruction. This includes, but is not limited to materials or services required as a result of the method of teaching used by the instructor, classroom audio visual equipment, models for art classes, practice rooms, films and digital media used for instructional purposes, course outlines, etc.
• Library facilities and related basic services.
• Computer hardware and software necessary for credit instruction provided by the University on campus.

Mandatory course supplementary fees are those which may be considered for special equipment, materials or services not included under Principle 1 and deemed necessary for all students for the successful completion of the course. This typically includes items retained by the student (e.g., medical kits, items required by a third party such as AHS, etc.), and non-instructional fees related to field trips, field schools, etc. These fees must be cost recovery only and are submitted to the Office of the Registrar for review by TFCC and approval by the Registrar. Approved fees are attached to the course and assessed at the time a student registers in the course.

Mandatory supplementary fees for courses are due by tuition fees payment deadline. In most cases, they are non-refundable after the last day to drop a course for the term(s); however, some courses may have earlier deadlines for refunds. When an earlier date is used it will be listed in the Class Notes section of the Schedule of Classes and on the faculty/department website.

Optional supplementary fees are those which may be considered for special equipment, materials or services not included under Principle 1 and are deemed optional for students and/or are available from a variety of sources. This includes items retained by the student following the course (e.g., art supplies, laboratory coats, and reproduced materials (see guidelines below) or services that are available from a variety of vendors (e.g., large capacity printers). These fees can only be assessed on a cost recovery basis and are approved by the faculty. Fees are collected through the faculty/department office. Fees and fee-related holds will not be applied to the student account for optional supplementary fees.

• Requests for all mandatory course supplementary fees (new, changes, renewals) must be submitted online to the Office of the Registrar by the deadline specified in the Scheduling Timelines.
• Requests must be submitted annually for each class section to which the fee is applied.
• Requests for mandatory course supplementary fees may be submitted via the online form by either a Departmental Scheduler, Department Head or Associate Dean and MUST be approved by the Associate Dean.
• Mandatory supplementary course fees CANNOT be submitted for Group Study programs.
• A budget must be included with the submission. It should include an itemized list of the total costs and the cost to be charged per student.
• Approved mandatory course supplementary fees must be described and listed in course outlines to ensure students are aware of the costs associated with a course and a note must be added to the Class Notes section of the registration system to indicate that there is a supplementary fee for the course.
• Faculties are responsible for reviewing and confirming the accuracy of Mandatory Supplementary Fees published in the Student Centre.

• Create the online submission process to receive applications for Mandatory Supplementary Fees, including supporting documents such as budgets, etc
• Process applications and facilitate review by the Tuition and Fees Consultation Committee.
• Process approval by the Registrar (by delegated authority of the Provost/Vice-President (Academic)
• Publish approved mandatory supplementary fees in the PeopleSoft student registration system.
• Assess mandatory supplementary fees at the time of registration.
• Ensure that students can view the assessment of mandatory supplementary fees on their Student Centre.
• Transfer the collected mandatory supplementary fees to the appropriate faculty after the deadline for course cancellation.
• Publish the General Principles for Mandatory Supplementary Course Fees in the University of Calgary Academic Calendar.

• As per section P.4.13 in the Calendar tuition and fee payment and refund deadlines apply to mandatory course supplementary fees.

No. Textbooks can be required but students should have a choice on how to access the book; e.g. library, shared with other students, rent, purchased new, purchased used, etc. This principle also applies to course packs and printed resources.

Note: Please refer to conflict of interest policies when using self-published materials.

No. Students should be informed in the course outline about the possible costs incurred for travel associated with practicum and internship placements.

Yes. Students may be charged for the costs of travel, food, accommodation etc. You will need to submit a complete budget when preparing field trip or field school requests. You may not charge for additional costs associated with instruction as a result of a field trip or field school. Tuition is intended to cover those costs.

Not normally. Laboratory materials such as chemicals, specimens, paints, etc., should be covered by tuition.

No. These new and emerging online tools can be valuable pedagogical tools for formative assessments, but any activity that forms part of the final grade for a student must be covered by the regular course tuition.

No. Normally you may not charge mandatory fees for a student orientation, or orientation like, event.