Request for Consultation, Category II Fees

Last Updated: 2/23/2022​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

A. Appropriate and meaningful consultation with campus constituencies regarding Category II fees and the use of fee revenue is critical to assure that the delegated authority is exercised in a manner that is consistent with policies adopted by the board.

  1. Appropriate and meaningful consultation includes consultation with bodies such as the campus faculty senate, the campus student body association and other constituencies affected by any proposed increase in an existing fee or establishment of a new fee.

  2. The policy presumes that a student fee referendum will be conducted before adjusting or establishing Category II fees. The president may waive the referendum requirement (unless it is required by education code or Student Success Fee policy) if he/she determines that a referendum is not the best mechanism to achieve appropriate and meaningful consultation.

  3. If a referendum is not conducted prior to adjusting Category II fees or requesting the chancellor to establish a new Category II fee, the president must demonstrate to the fee advisory committee the reasons why the alternative consultation methods selected will be more effective in complying with this policy.

B. An advisory student referendum is expected in order to measure student support prior to adjusting a Category II fee or requesting the chancellor to establish a new Category II fee but is subject to the exception described in Section A2 above. The referendum may be conducted by the campus or the student body association. For referenda conducted by the campus, the following shall apply:

  1. The president in consultation with the student body association and the faculty senate shall develop guidelines applicable to the student fee referendum process designed to assure that the referendum is open, fair, and objective.

  2. The campus shall fund costs associated with the referendum.

  3. The fee advisory committee shall issue a voter pamphlet providing objective analysis of the proposed fee action and statements solicited by the committee for and against the proposed fee action.

  4. The fee advisory committee shall determine the specific statements that shall be included in the pamphlet.

  5. Copies of the voter pamphlet and ballot and information regarding the dates, times, and polling locations shall be available to students and published in the campus newspaper and in other public locations around campus at least thirty days prior to the referendum.

  6. The results of a referendum shall be considered favorable when a majority of students voting approve the fee action.

  7. The results of the referendum shall be advisory to the fee advisory committee and the president, unless the Education Code or Student Success Fee policy requires that the referendum pass.

C. If it is determined that a referendum is not the best mechanism for appropriate and meaningful consultation, and is not required by the Education Code or Student Success Fee policy, an alternative consultation process may be utilized. The following shall apply

  1. The president, upon deciding that a referendum will not allow for the best measure of student opinion, shall inform the fee advisory committee of his/her intent to begin alternative consultation.

  2. Alternative consultation strategies shall be developed with input from the student body association and the fee advisory committee to ensure that the process is transparent and meaningful, and shall solicit the input of a representative sample of the student body.

  3. A representative sample should include students in leadership positions as well as students who are not involved in campus leadership. Efforts should be made to include students from many aspects of campus life regardless of the type of fee.

  4. Any written material regarding the new fee, or fee increase should follow the same guidelines as the referendum voter pamphlet to provide objective analysis of the fee or fee increase.

  5. Results of the alternative consultation process should be summarized and put in writing and used as additional advisory material to be taken into consideration by the fee advisory committee and the president.

  6. If a Category II fee for a capital project (e.g., university union building or health services building) must be raised to meet minimum debt service revenue bond requirements that were not required when the fee was established, the president can make that adjustment without a full alternative consultation process, but must present the debt service requirements and revenue projections to the fee advisory committee prior to making the adjustment.

D. At the January 2015 Board of Trustees meeting, the Trustees voted to make specific amendments to fee policy to incorporate clarification and new requirements for student success fees (Category II). These changes followed the formation of a working group to study the role, process, and enactment of category II campus-based mandatory student success fees, including their notification, accountability, and outcome reporting processes. The working group and subsequent fee policy changes were incorporated in response to Senate Bill 860, Education Code Section 89712, which required the chancellor to conduct a review of student success fees during fiscal year 2014-2015 and make recommendations to the trustees on changes to the fee policy.

E. Unless established prior to January 1, 2013, Category II fees established through an affirmative vote of the majority of the student body voting on the fee, but not specifically authorized by statute, shall not be reallocated to alternative purpose(s) without an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of either the student body or Campus Fee Advisory Committee voting on the reallocation. Category II fees established on or after January 1, 2013 through an affirmative vote of the majority of the student body voting on the fee, but not specifically authorized by statue, may be reallocated without an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of either the student body or Campus Fee Advisory Committee voting on the fee if the vote that established the fee authorized an alternative or automatic reallocation mechanism for that fee.

F. In September 2012 the governor also signed into law provisions for reallocation of campus mandatory fees (Category II). Education Code Section 89711 requires that any fee established by a majority vote of the student body after the effective date of this legislation must be brought back before the student body before it can be reallocated, unless the vote that established the fee authorized an alternative or automatic reallocation mechanism. Category II fees that do not fall under the purview of this law are exempt.