What, if any, technology fee is charged by the campus? What does it cover?
Many campuses today charge an additional "technology" fee to help offset increased investments in computing, networking, and related support for students. Such fees can be very helpful to the student if they do, indeed, result in a higher level of technology support for students and both the fees and technology support are understood by all concerned.
Most common today is a flat fee paid per quarter or semester that funds a base level of access to computer hardware and software, the Internet, and related help for all students. Most such fees pay only a portion of true costs, with the remainder supported in the campus budget. Some fees are embedded in the normal tuition and so are not visible on a fee statement. Ask if a technology fee is included in tuition if none is listed. The key is to ask what technologies and services are covered by the fee.
Some campuses charge additional technology fees on a course–by–course basis depending on the level of support needed for the class. Here it is important to understand the cost of such service over all anticipated classes and, again, what you get for the fee. If only course fees are used, you should ask what kind of support is available to students who are not currently enrolled in one of the technology–fee classes.
Another common variation is to charge higher fees for schools or majors such as engineering that make intensive use of technology. In this case there should be a clear distinction in the level of support offered beyond that available to the general student body.
Will the technology fees increase over time? Orderly increases are reasonable since the dominant cost of support is in staff, not hardware, and students can be expected to use increasingly more technology. Here, as in general, it is most important to know what the technology fees actually support and the strategy of the school with respect to upgrading equipment and renewing services.
| Percentage of Campuses That Charge General Technology Fees |
| | All | Doctoral 1 | Master's 2 | Bachelor's 3 | Associate's 4 | Other 5 |
| Yes | 52.4% | 56.9% | 61.0% | 43.2% | 62.0% | 31.4% |
