PROPOSAL DRAFT COPY

 

Course Name and Number for Which Fee is Proposed: 

All HSSEAS’ undergraduate non-tutorial courses.

 

Proposed Title for Fee:                     

HSSEAS’ Instructional Enhancement Initiative

 

Campus Department/School:           

Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science

 

 

  1. Describe materials and supplies, tools and equipment, or special supplemental educational experience which will be funded with this new fee.  Differentiate between the perishable or consumable supplies and non-perishable or re-usable supplies.

 

The fee will be used to purchase equipment, software, and programming effort directly related to the support of all HSSEAS’ undergraduate classes.

 

    1. It will provide funding for salaries and benefits of personnel responsible for creating and maintaining web sites for all HSSEAS’ courses.
    2. It will contribute to the cost of upgrading and maintaining computers and printers for HSSEAS’ open computer labs.
    3. It will supplement funding utilized for upgrading and maintaining HSSEAS’ servers that provide support for workstations in computer labs.
    4. It will contribute to personnel costs associated with the monitoring and user support for student open computer labs.

 

Replacement costs for equipment are based upon an average three year lifetime.  The rapid pace of technology improvements dictate this number as a practical limit for a PCs reliable and effective lifetime.

 

 

  1. Explain the need for the University to charge students for the course materials.

 

Funding available within the School does not reflect the present day extensive need for the use of computers and electronic communication and delivery of information in the curriculum.  The ongoing requirement for computing resources to support the curriculum of an engineering professional school has not diminished with the growth in private ownership of personal computers.  Even with recent expansion of computing resources in HSSEAS, computer labs are heavily occupied during large segments of the quarter as assignments become due and exams approach. 

 

The cost of highly specialized software required for coursework assignments in engineering and the need for stronger development of web resources for HSSEAS’ classes and the timely upgrade and replacement of aging computer equipment all require an ongoing commitment of the University and students to ensure the availability of IT resources to support the curriculum.

 

 

  1. State the proposed amount of the course materials fee.  The amount should be stated in terms such as “per course” or “per credit hour” or “per term.”

 

The propsed fee will be assessed at a rate of $7 per credit hour for every undergraduate class within the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

 

 

  1. List the course numbers and course names for which the course materials fee is proposed.

 

This fee is being proposed for all non-tutorial undergraduate courses within the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.*

 

*All students enrolled in concurrent courses will be charged a course material fee.

 

  1. Demonstrate that there is a reasonable relation between the fee and the benefit to the student.  What does the student get for the fee?

 

The fee will be fully utilized to upgrade and maintain equipment in computer labs that support undergraduate coursework available to all undergraduate students and providing software required by courses within the School of Engineering.  It will be utilized to improve the availability of information provided on class web pages and communication between students and between students and instructors and teaching assistants.

 

Specifically students will directly benefit from:

1.      Improved performance on SEASnet lab computers.

2.      Uniform and improved class web site features for many class sites including:

a.       course syllabus.

b.      communications links to instructors and teaching assistants including virtual office hours.

c.       course descriptions.

d.      biographical information on instructors.

e.       links to additional helpful resources.

f.        current course information including:

                                                                                       i.      announcements.

                                                                                     ii.      assignments.

                                                                                    iii.      lecture notes and or instructor commentary.

3.      Equipment in computing labs will be replaced, upgraded and maintained on a schedule that guarantees continued effective access to all resources required for coursework within HSSEAS.

4.      Software required in HSSEAS’ courses will be routinely upgraded and maintained.

5.      Students will be able to remotely access HSSEAS’ coursework software from personal computers or laptops from campus residence halls, from home over high speed connections with an internet service provider, from other campus computer labs, and from personal notebook computers utilizing wireless connections at other campus locations.

6.      SEASnet already provides electronic mail, local disk storage and many other network services to students.  Storage allocations will be increased for locally stored data and mail.

7.      Printing costs will be lowered to recover only paper and toner costs.

 

  1. Provide detailed information on the method of gathering input from students.  Describe the student involvement in the process and the nature of the student input.   Document the students’ responses.

 

The School is taking comprehensive steps to insure thorough student involvement and input in this process.

 

1.      We met with the officers of all student organizations within HSSEAS and informed them of the proposal on Feb. 24, 2003.  We made a brief presentation of the proposal followed by question and answer period.  The officers were given a web site location for viewing the proposal and an email address for comments.

2.      The web site location is www.seas.ucla.edu/fee_proposal

3.      A followup email was sent to the meeting attendees on Feb. 25, 2003 reminding them of the web site, email address and soliciting comments.

4.      The completed budget and questionnaire was added to the web site on March 5, 2003 and an additional email message sent out to all officers of student organizations within HSSEAS soliciting further comments.

5.      An email message will be sent out to all undergraduates concerning the proposal, budget and questionnaire.  Students will be encouraged to complete the questionnaire online.  Data will be anonomously collected and stored in a database.

6.      Results of the questionnaire will be compiled and comments documented for review.

 

                       

  1. What is the date for determining the assessment of the fee?

 

The fee will be assessed following the end of the fourth week of classes.


  1. Is it appropriate to refund any portion of the fee if a student withdraws from a course after the fee assessment deadline and returns the unused portion of the materials or supplies in reusable condition?  If so, how would the amount of the refund be determined?  If not, why not?  Relate the refund determination to the nature of the materials and supplies described in Item #1.

 

The fee is being utilized to provide equipment and services that are not consumable in the sense that a returnable portion will exist should a student withdraw from a class at any given time.  However, the fee will be assessed and collected through the BAR system following the withdrawal deadline in order to minimize the cost impact to students that withdraw in timely fashion. Withdrawals after the end of the fourth week will be assessed the full fee for the course.

 

  1. If the course materials fee is currently being administered through an existing account/fund, provide the FAU where the income is being recorded and the FAU where the expenses are being reported.

 

This is a newly proposed fee and does not have an existing account/fund.

 

  1.   Complete Part C and prepare a one-year budget for the fee.  (See Part C:  Attach supplemental sheets if necessary.)

 

·        Show the estimated annual revenue resulting from the fee proposed in Item 3 ($/course times annual enrollment or $/credit hour times credit hour per course times annual enrollment).  Show any other subsidies provided from funds available to the Dean or Chair.

 

See attached budget.

 

·        Show all expenses for supplies, consumable materials and support services associated with each course.  Identify the specific expenses suitable to be off-set by the proposed fee.

 

See attached budget.

 

  1.   If the course requires specific support personnel:

 

·        List the positions, the annual salary, the percentage of the FTE in support of the course, and the pro-rated salary in support of the course.

 

See attached budget for personnel costs.

 

  1.   If the course materials fee underwrites the cost of equipment:

 

  • List the items, their estimated cost and the projected date of purchase.  Include a depreciation and replacement schedule.

 

See attached budget for equipment costs.

 

  1.   If a material or supply inventory is to be maintained:
  • List the items with a description and their estimated fiscal year-end value.

No Inventory.