Student Fees Explained

1. Student Fees Explained SASD Seminar Monday, 17 August 20092.00pm – 4.00pmSenate Room

2. Student Fees Explained Linda Bird Academic Registrar SASD Seminar

3. Student Fees Explained: Outline • Remission of Financial Liability • Student Fees – Coursework Programs - Tuition fee paying coursework students - Commonwealth Supported students • Student Fees – Research Programs • Sponsored Students • Outstanding Liabilities • Responsibilities and Important Dates

4. Removal of Financial Liability • Students who withdraw prior to the census date will have their financial liability removed • Students can only have their financial liability removed, when they have withdrawn after the census date, if they meet strict guidelines

5. Special circumstances under which a student can apply include: Medical Family, Personal or Financial Employment Administrative Errors Removal of Financial Liability

6. Removal of Financial Liability • Students must demonstrate the full impact of the special circumstance occurred either: • Before the census date, but deteriorated significantly after the census date; or • Before the census date, but the full effect did not become apparent until on or after the census date; or • On or after the census date • All supporting documents must be submitted with the student’s application

7. Removal of Financial Liability • Applications will not be considered on the following grounds: • - adding the wrong course - forgetting to a drop course/s - claiming ‘no-one told me I had to drop my course before census date’ - not knowing the census date or the University’s cancellation procedures • Students claiming they received incorrect academic advice from UQ staff may be directed to the Grievance Resolution Process

8. Removal of Financial Liability • In preparing each application Student Fees is required to: • Obtain a completed Academic Coordinator Verification for each course within short timeframe (5 working days) • Obtain a medical report from Health Services (for applications on medical grounds) • The application, with advice, is then forwarded to the Academic Registrar for a decision

9. Removal of Financial Liability • Applications must be processed and students notified of the decision within 45 working days • If their application is not approved, students are advised they can submit a review request within 28 calendar days • Review requests are assessed by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) • All students may appeal to the State Ombudsman

10. Removal of Financial Liability • HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP students who submit a review request and are not approved can then appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) – application fee required • Full-fee paying students – see Grievance Procedures • http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/attachments/teaching-learning/HUPP3.40.10GrievanceResolutionProcessesChart.pdf • Students who have their applications, review requests or appeals approved will have the charges removed

11. Re-credit of Fees Full Tuition Fee Paying Students • International, DUFF, and PG domestic coursework students who are not Commonwealth Supported who withdraw from courses prior to census date will have money re-credited to their SI-net account • Can request a refund or leave the money in their SI-net account to be applied in a future semester • International students who withdraw completely from their program may be charged a $1000 administrative fee – amount under review

12. Student Fees Explained Narelle Larney Manager, Student Fees Secretary, Fees Reviewing Committee n.larney@uq.edu.au x52328 SASD Seminar

13. Student Fees Unit Responsibilities • Specialist assistance to students, staff, and official government bodies on student fee matters, telephone and email fee enquiries • Calculate indicative student fees • Provide student fee related information for the University’s website and other publications • Provide student fee data and timelines to the SI-net Functional Group for the operation of the Student Financials components of SI-net • Secretarial support to the Fees Reviewing Committee

14. Student Fees Unit Responsibilities • Manage fee payment variations • Manual invoicing and calculation of fees • Outstanding liabilities management and reporting • Fee refunds – paperwork, first approver, SI-net updates • Initial processing and investigation of ‘Removal of financial liability’ applications • Administer the HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP schemes for UQ

15. Student Fees - Coursework Programs • Course based fees • Course coding system • CHEM1090 Introductory Chemistry #2 • Discipline descriptor or subject area • CHEM Chemistry

16. Tuition Fees SchemeCoursework Programs – 2009 Fees

17. Tuition Fees SchemeCoursework Programs – 2009 Fees

18. Tuition Fees SchemeCoursework Programs • Indexation • The amount for each band is subject to a cost indexation on a basis to be determined each year by the Fees Reviewing Committee • For 2010 fee rates an indexation rate of 4% was applied to 2009 fee rates

19. Tuition Fees SchemeCoursework Programs – Indexation 4%

20. Tuition Fees SchemeCoursework Programs – 2009 Fees

21. Tuition Fees – Fees Calculator2008 Commencing PG Domestic Student

22. Tuition Fees Coursework ProgramsGrandfathering • Under UQ’s Fee Rules, fees for international and postgraduate domestic students are ‘cohort grandfathered’ i.e. • ‘A student who has enrolled in a particular entry cohort will continue to be charged tuition fees for courses in subsequent years based on the allocation of those courses to bands at the time of the initial enrolment of the student in the program’ • Consequences if changing program and thus commencement year

23. Tuition Fees – Fees Calculator2009 Commencing PG Domestic Student

24. Tuition Fees – International Students • Under Section 3.1 of the National Code: • The registered provider must enter into a written agreement with the student. The agreement must: • Identify the course(s) in which the student is to be enrolled and any conditions on his or her enrolment • Provide an itemised list of course money payable by the student • Provide information in relation to refunds of course money

25. Tuition Fees - Coursework Programs • Any organisational unit with offer letter templates should have the fee information checked by the Student Fees Unit each year

26. Tuition fees – Non-award studentsHow are they charged? • Cross institutional and non-award – as per course allocation to fee band for the year of enrolment • Study Abroad and Study Program for International Students – flat semester fee • In-coming exchange – tuition fees paid to home institution

27. Student Fees Explained Paul Rickards Team Leader, Student Fees fees@uq.edu.au x52328 SASD Seminar

28. Commonwealth Supported Students • Domestic undergraduate students apply via QTAC for a ‘Commonwealth Supported’ (formerly HECS) place • Commonwealth Supported students are charged a ‘student contribution’ amount via the HECS-HELP scheme • Student contributions are calculated according to the fee ‘band’ to which a course is allocated

29. Commonwealth Supported Students

30. Commonwealth Supported Students • Upon initial enrolment in mySI-net, students are directed to an online HECS-HELP form to indicate their payment option for the semester • Most students can change their payment option up to the semester census date (31 March or 31 August) • Three HECS-HELP payment options for Australian citizens and permanent residents with Humanitarian Visas

31. Commonwealth Supported Students Deferred repayment through taxation system - students must supply TFN 2. Partial upfront payment of $500 or more by census date, balance is deferred through tax - receive a 20% discount on the payment 3. Full upfront payment by census date - receive a 20% discount Voluntary payments (minimum $500) made to the ATO after census date receive a 10% discount

32. Commonwealth Supported Students Holders of Australian permanent resident visas and New Zealand citizens: Must pay their contribution 100% upfront No discount for upfront payment Cannot defer liability through the tax system

33. Commonwealth Supported Students Upfront payments are due on the Friday of the second week of semester Financial liability is removed if students drop a course on or before the semester census date Students are financially liable for courses they are enrolled in at the census date

34. Commonwealth Supported Students • All students who are withdrawing or deferring their studies are responsible for dropping their courses on mySI-netfor the current (and future semesters if applicable) by the census date • After census date students are financially liable for their course enrolment

35. Tuition Fees – Research Students • Higher Doctorates: only pay an examination fee upon submission of paperwork • PhD and MPhil • Domestic students are tuition fee exempt • International students pay a set semester fee for the standard program duration • International students commencing after 30 April in semester 1 and 30 September in semester 2, pay 50% of the fee for the semester

37. Faculty/School/Centre Sponsored Students • One-off cases: organisational unit must pay tuition fees by due date for payment of fees (second Friday of semester) • Complete Payment for UQ Scholarship Form • Send form to Accounts Receivable before the due date for payment of fees • Faculty/School/Centre account debited and funds posted to student’s SI-net account • Brett Stegemannbretts@uq.edu.au x51059

38. Faculty/School/Centre Sponsored Students Third Party Contracts: must be set up before due date for payment of fees Complete Request for UQ Scholarship Form Send form to Accounts Receivable before the due date for payment of fees Students are added to Third Party Contract (TPC) After census date, invoice sent to organisational unit Complete Payment for UQ Scholarship Form

39. Faculty/School/Centre Sponsored Students • Organisational Units paying tuition fees on behalf of students: • Notify Student Fees Unit as soon as possible and before the fees due date, so that, in the event of non-payment by the fees due date, Student Fees do not unnecessarily contact students and add late payment charges for outstanding fees

40. Outstanding Liabilities • At census date students become financially liable for their enrolment • After census date a report is compiled of students with outstanding fees along with recommendations and this is forwarded to the Director, Student Administration for consideration • After final decisions are received Student Fees will cancel enrolment and/or place a Negative Service Indicator on the student record for non-payment of fees

41. Finance and Business Services • Primarily responsible for functions which have in-house fiscal implications. Responsibilities: • Fee income collection and distribution • Tuition fee modelling, projections and forecasts • Collection and analysis of faculties’ annual fee movements • Third Party Contracts (TPCs) • Processing Telegraphic Transfer payments • Fee refunds – second approver and payments • Assistant Secretarial support to the Fees Reviewing Committee • Old debt collection

42. UQ International • InternationalAdmissions • Responsible for offer letters, processing application fee payments, international tuition fee deposits, OSHC, as well as payments for ICTE-UQ package offers and managing Canadian/US government sponsored loans students • International Relations • Manages sponsored /scholarship students and agreements with third parties

43. SFG and Student Centre • SI-net Functional Group • Manages the Student Financials components of SI-net and the University’s Fees Calculator • Student Centre • General face to face and some telephone student fee enquiries • Initial processing of student fee refund requests

44. Organisational Units • Send offer letter templates to Student Fees for review • Return Academic Coordinator verification forms within 5 days • Participate in verification of DEEWR unit of study data • Review indicative fees with Student Fees • Send lists of faculty/school/centre sponsored students to Student Fees

45. Important Dates and Fee Rules • Due date for payment of fees is the Friday of the second week of semester • If fees are not paid by the due date a $20 late payment fee is applied • Census date 31 March and 31 August • If fees not paid by census date student’s enrolment becomes non-effective (i.e. student is no longer enrolled at UQ and cannot continue studies) • Fee Rules • http://www.uq.edu.au/myadvisor/university-rules

46. Student Fees Unit Contact Details General Enquiries: x52328 Email: fees@uq.edu.au