How course fees are spent

Course fees can be distinguished as curriculum fees or as class fees. Generally speaking, curriculum fees will apply on a consistent basis across every course. Class fees, however, are dependant on the class's specific needs and change fluctuate in value.

Curriculum Fees

The Department of Geography & Environmental Studies assesses a curriculum fee of $50 on every undergraduate class (excluding independent study and internship credits) as well as class fee of $30 on all graduate class that meet in the Spatial Computing Lab.  These fees are used to provide and maintain the department’s student computer lab.

  • Access to a well-maintained computer lab with updated hardware and all of the following specialized software packages in GIS, remote sensing, and geovisualization: ESRI, SPSS, Idrisi, ENVI
  • Exclusive access to our computer lab anytime the lab is not in use for classes (see detailed schedule for open-lab hours).
  • Computing support from a dedicated lab manager who will be on-site 40 hours per week.
  • Access to field equipment that can be checked out for physical geography projects, including handheld GPS units, infrared thermometers, infrared cameras, water monitoring kits, plant presses, sling psychrometers, etc.

Class Fees

In addition to curriculum fees, some courses include additional “class fees” that cover specific costs for that class. These fees may be used to fund field activities, purchase consumable supplies, or enable student-specific software access. You can find all course fees listed each semester in the class schedule.

Decisions about How to Allocate Fees

Decisions are made on an annual basis about how to allocate curriculum fees collected from undergraduate courses. To ensure complete transparency in the collection and expenditure of curriculum fees, we solicit student participation in this annual decision-making process.

Impact on Overall Student Costs

We believe that curriculum fees provide a clear and welcome benefit to all students enrolled in GEOG by providing access to specialized computing resources and fieldwork equipment. We also recognize that curriculum fees increase students’ overall costs, and we invite feedback on the impact of these fees on student progress toward graduation.