Information regarding approval of Course Materials & Services Fees and Miscellaneous Fees

Approval process for Course Materials and Services Fees

New and revised Course Materials and Services Fees may be implemented only in fall quarters. To have fees approved in time to be published in the Class Schedule and the Course Catalog for Fall 2025, the review process will take place during fall 2024. Proposals are due by October 31, 2024.

CMSF Smartsheet tool

Through Smartsheet, CMSF proposal submitters and department chairs have access to dynamic views of course material fees, where they can edit records, promote proposals, or review the current status of proposals they have initiated. Select the appropriate view below. All users must log in with Microsoft, which will open Office365 login.

• Course Material Fees Not Yet Submitted
  View for submitters to edit records and promote to chairs
• Course Material Fees Submitted by You (Read only)
  View for submitters to review current status of proposals they initiated
• Course Material Fees Submitted to You for Approval
  View for department chair to edit records and promote to Dean's Office
• Course Material Fees Submitted to You (Read only)
  View for department chair to review current status of proposals where they are listed as the chair

Dean’s office analysts, assistant deans and BIA staff have access to comprehensive views of all CMSF proposals through Smartsheet WorkApps.

Login: CMSF Proposal Form

CMSF proposal workflow

The CMSF proposal workflow outlines each Smartsheet role and the tasks each role is meant to complete. Note that at every stage, there is an option to send back proposals through the workflow if there are questions. 

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Training

• CMSF Process Detailed Work Instructions (Word) (PDF)
• Course Materials & Services Fees Training video

Office hours and support

The BIA team is available to answer questions about the Smartsheet tool or the CMSF process. Join us for office hours or submit a question via email.

Office hours are available via Zoom.

• Wednesday, October 23, 1pm-2pm
• Friday, October 25, 9am-10am

Join via Zoom
Follow this link for the Zoom meeting ID and passcode.

Renewed CMSFs

Fees are generally approved for a three-year period and will expire unless the department requests a renewal. A renewal is a continuation of a previously approved fee, with no changes to the fee amount. To propose a renewal, access the proposal form in Smartsheet and complete the required fields. If there are no changes in the expenses categories, the department can enter the same justification from the prior submission.

If a fee is scheduled to expire in June 2024, departments must submit a renewal proposal for the fee to continue.

New or revised CMSFs

For new fees, the department accesses the proposal form in Smartsheet and completes the required fields. The proposal will route to the college or school dean’s office for review of appropriateness and compliance with UC and campus policy. The dean’s office consults with the college or school executive committee before submitting the proposal to the CMSF Committee for review. For revised fees, the department also prepares the proposal form. Historical data will be pre-populated after the initial entry is saved.

Policy states that if the fiscal close account balance exceeds 50 percent of the expenditure for the last year the course was offered, the department must submit a request to lower the fee.

Departments may group similar undergraduate courses together to charge the same fee for each course only with the explicit approval of the Committee. The department must demonstrate that grouping the courses together will provide cost savings.

Review, notification and accounting process

The Committee will review the submittal, make a recommendation to the Chancellor, and notify the department and the dean of the Chancellor's decision. BIA will notify the University Registrar of fees to be published in the quarterly class schedules. The Registrar will also annotate the Banner database. Departments must include a notice of the CMSF in the course syllabus and must provide an explanation of the materials purchased with the fee either in the syllabus or on a course website. On the first day of class, the department or the instructor should inform students about the fee.

The department must establish a chart string for receipt of fee income and monitor expenses and income as they are incurred. Revenue from each fee must be accounted for separately and may not be commingled with state general funds. Departments must accurately document the costs associated with the course materials. Student Accounting will bill students for the fee and credit those who are exempt from the fee (see Fee waivers section). Student Accounting will also allocate the income to the department’s established chart string.

Fee waivers

On the first day of class, the department or the instructor should inform students about the fee waiver option. Students who cannot pay the fee will be responsible for seeking a waiver from the department and for providing required documentation before the 20th day of instruction. Departments will be responsible for designating a representative to approve waiver requests and for emailing Student Accounting with a list of students in each section who are exempt from the fee. This list, along with completed fee waiver form(s), must be submitted to Student Accounting. Departments that deny a fee waiver request should refer the student to the Financial Aid Office for review of their options.

Download the Fee Waiver Form

Personnel costs

Specific examples of appropriate personnel costs that may be charged to a CMSF include, but are not limited to:

• The technical staff costs associated with preparing animal cadavers or cadaver parts for surgery and anatomy courses.
• The technical staff costs associated with health care and animal husbandry for animals specifically for use in a course. When animals used in a course are part of an existing herd or flock, only the staff time dedicated to husbandry and management of these animals for the specific course may be included.
• The technical staff costs associated with operating, calibrating, and instructing on the use of highly specialized instrumentation. Highly specialized instrumentation can include but are not limited to lasers and plotters for student work in landscape architecture courses. Technical staff often require certification or specialized training to operate highly specialized instrumentation.
• The technical staff costs associated with instructing students on chemistry lab safety and safely managing chemistry experiments.
• The technical staff costs associated with the preparation of necessary chemicals, specimens, and supplies necessary for laboratory courses. This does not include the staff time to purchase or inventory these materials.
• The technical staff costs associated with instructing students on specialized tasks in photography, painting, and sculpting courses.
• The technical staff costs associated with biological media preparation, proper sterilization, decontamination and hazardous waste disposal for laboratory courses, and specialized environmental and ecological systems expertise, such as sea water systems.
• The technical staff costs associated with live plant collection, plant growth, and classification for life science laboratory courses.

Only include cost that are related to the staff performing their highly specialized task.  For example, do not include time spent of doing such task such as taking inventory in the cost calculation (Section I) or in staff description (Section V) of the proposal form.

It is helpful to be brief but descriptive when providing description of staff in CMSF proposals. Do not just state that they are “working in lab.” Instead, give brief example to “show” how they are highly specialized.

Description examples

Good description: 
"Computer Resource Specialist (CRS) to assist students in printing large scale documents such a posters and blue prints. This IT specialist is the custodian of the printing equipment and limiting access to trained employees, helps reduce the risk of damage and abuse. The CRS operates a laser cutter to produce 3D images based on information provided by students. This laser cutter is not accessible to students as it is a very dangerous piece of equipment that can catch on fire if not used properly. The CRS has responsibility to ensure safety protocol is followed."

Bad description: 
"Staff member is specialized and works with students in lab.  The technician is an expert in the field."