Glossary of Fees

There are a variety of fees that may be assessed to students depending on their program or enrollment.

Fees may be assessed in the following categories:

  • Mandatory Fees: Charged every semester to ALL students based on enrollment. Mandatory fees cannot be waived.
  • Common Fees: Assessed on an as-needed basis when a student initiates the fee. More information is available within each fee's description.
  • University/Program Fees: Assessed based on enrollment or participation in specific programs. More information is available within each fee's description and disclosed by the appropriate departments.
  • Course/Lab Fees:  Charged based on enrollment in specific courses and unique to each course and/or section. These are disclosed in the course information in each semester's Schedule of Classes.

Read below for a glossary of the various fees.

Current Listing of Fee Amounts
Office of the Registrar

Mandatory Fees

These fees provide access to activities and services, and are assessed to all students. They are not user fees and may not be waived. All students are encouraged to take advantage of the benefits these fees provide.

Technology: Supports the expansion of discipline-specific technology-based services including laboratories, multimedia presentation classrooms, and demonstration stations. It also funds the replacement of equipment in student labs and supports interdisciplinary curriculum development, expanded data network access to digital resources, improved library access systems, and enhanced online learning systems and assistive technologies.

Health: Ensures student access to essential health services, including medical, counseling and wellness services. It provides funding for office visits with a healthcare provider for student illnesses or injuries at no cost, while also supporting public and mental health initiatives on campus by promoting healthy activities.

Health Facility: Provides funding to the Student Health Center to ensure effective maintenance and operation of the facility.

Student Activities: Provides support to a broad range of services and activities for students, including Northern Iowa Student Government, student organizations, fine arts programs, intercollegiate academic activities, the student newspaper, family weekend activities, and activities sponsored by the Office of Student Life.

Student Services: Supports intercollegiate athletics which provides free tickets for students to attend athletic events.

Building: Provides funding to Maucker Union and UNI-Dome to ensure effective maintenance and operation of the facilities.

Recreation: Funds drop-in recreation, intramurals, and fitness programs and events. It covers increased costs of student wages, utility assessments, equipment replacement and administrative overhead.

Common Fees

Application Fees (non-refundable)

  • Undergraduate Domestic - Student & Non-Degree Student: Assessed to students applying for admission as an undergraduate student at the University of Northern Iowa. This fee is used to defray administrative costs incurred in the processing of these applications in the areas of data processing, personnel, supplies and postage.Students in this category may include exchange students and dual enrollment students.

  • Undergraduate International Student: Charged to non-immigrant applicants to undergraduate study at the university. This fee is slightly higher than the domestic rate to cover the additional costs incurred with the evaluation of foreign credentials, international postage and immigration forms.

  • Graduate/professional Domestic Student: For processing applications for admission to graduate study. This fee is used to defray administrative costs incurred in the processing of these applications in the areas of data processing, personnel, supplies and postage.

  • Graduate/Professional International Student: To defray costs associated with the admission of international graduate students. The evaluation of foreign credentials for admission and transfer equivalency is costly on an individual basis. In addition, immigration documents and international communications add to the processing cost of these applications.

Applied Music Fees

  • Group Sessions (4 or more, per credit hour): For group music lessons per credit of enrollment.

  • Instrument Rental (per instrument): To cover costs of instrument repairs and maintenance on university-owned instruments that are rented to students at a reduced rate from private instrument rentals.

  • Private Lessons: Individual music lessons arranged through the UNI School of Music

Billing Fees

  • Deferred (payment over 3-5 months): Assessed for requests to spread tuition and fees due dates over 3-5 months.

Continuing Education (per credit hour): Courses offered to students enrolled in online and distance programs are charged this rate. These credit-bearing courses may be at the undergraduate or graduate level. Courses may be in person, offered via video conferencing, or delivered online.

  • Technology Fee: Assessed per registered course offered through the Division of Online Education & Individual Studies at an online or distance offering to support interdisciplinary curriculum development, expanded data network access to digital resources, improved library access systems, and enhanced online learning systems and assistive technologies.

Departmental Exam for Credit Fee (per exam): This fee covers expenses in creating, administering and scoring special examinations for students who wish to ‘test out’ for credit from a regular course in which they are not enrolled.

Developmental Course Fees: Developmental courses are those whose level of content knowledge is fundamental to beginning level college credit courses. Any credit earned in developmental courses is not applicable to a degree.

Diploma Replacement Fee: Assessed for requests for an additional or replacement diploma beyond the originally obtained diploma. Fee defrays the costs of processing, printing, mailing, and specialized equipment involved in the creation of diplomas.

Employer Reimbursement Deferred Billing Fee: Assessed on a semesterly basis for students who receive tuition reimbursement from their employer to have their tuition and mandatory fee repayments deferred until the end of the semester (approximately 30 days from the date grades are posted in Student Center).

Graduate Studies Fees

  • Graduate Publication Fee – Masters/Doctorate: Assessed to cover the costs associated with editing, reviewing, and publishing final graduate theses, dissertations, or publications.

  • Graduate Reactivation Fee: Assessed to inactive Graduate students seeking to re-enroll in the same program to defray the costs associated with re-evaluating and processing their reactivation.

Graduation & Degree Application Fee

  • Late Fee for Applying After Deadline (Graduate Students only): Assessed to Graduate students applying to graduate after the published deadline to defray costs associated with added administrative burden.

ID Card Replacement Fee: This fee is assessed to a student (or faculty or staff) who requests replacement of their lost or destroyed university ID card.  The fee covers the cost of materials, equipment, processing, and personnel associated with this service

Lakeside Lab (per credit hour): For enrollment in courses hosted at Iowa Lakeside Lab in West Okoboji Lake

Late Payment of Fees & Charges: Assessed with each monthly U-Bill for past due charges.

New Student Programs/Matriculation Fees: This fee is charged to all new undergraduate degree-seeking students and funds orientation programs (including staffing, facilities, and activities), first-year success initiatives, outreach and support for at-risk students, early intervention tools, and ALEKS math placement testing.

  • International Student Orientation (additional program): This supplemental fee covers the expenses associated with costly activities that are not part of the orientation offered to domestic students.

Registration Fees

  • Doctoral Post Comprehensive or Prelim/Masters Final: For Doctoral candidates with no enrollment but completing their dissertation to allow continued access for continued library and technology resources.

  • Graduate Continuing Scholar: For Graduate students with no enrollment but completing their final work to allow continued access for continued library and technology resources.

  • Late – Day 11 Onward: For students with an initial enrollment after census (the 10th day of classes). This fee is not assessed for changes to enrollment.

Reissue Check Fee/Returned Check/Debit Fee: Assessed each time a check or payment is returned for insufficient funds, account closed, or stop payment.

University Records & Document Fee: Assessed to all new undergraduate and graduate students. The fee covers transcripts, add/drops of university courses, FAX fees, replacement diplomas, and graduation/commencement services. Previously, these services were charged individually and are now charged at matriculation.

  • Degree Seeking Students (first enrollment)

  • Non-Degree Seeking Students (first enrollment): This discounted Records & Document Fee is assessed to non-degree seeking students upon their initial enrollment to the university.

  • Continuing & Distance Education Records & Document Fee (Graduation/Transcripts): Students initially charged the discounted Records & Document Fee based on their enrollment at the time of Admissions are assessed this fee upon applying to graduate to cover graduation and commencement associated expenses.

Expedited Shipping Fee for Official Documents – Domestic: Covers the expedited shipping costs for official documents sent domestically by the Office of the Registrar.

Expedited Shipping Fee for Official Documents – International: Covers the expedited shipping costs for official documents sent internationally by the Office of the Registrar.

University/Program Fees

College of Humanities, Arts, & Sciences (per semester)

  • Applied Engineering Equipment Fee: Replaces lab fees for students with a declared major in the Department of Applied Engineering to pay for shared labs, interdisciplinary programs, additional programs, and expanded consumables that are used for more than one individual course at a time.

  • Construction Management Equipment Fee: Replaces lab fees for students with a declared major in the Department of Construction Management to pay for shared labs, interdisciplinary programs, additional programs, and expanded consumables that are used for more than one individual course at a time.

College of Social & Behavioral Sciences (per year)

  • Master of Athletic Training Program Fee – Year 1: Consolidates various out of pocket program related expenses including equipment, background checks, technology, and board exam fees into a program fee assessed at the start of the first year of enrollment in the program.

  • Master of Athletic Training Program Fee – Year 2: Consolidates various out of pocket program related expenses including equipment, background checks, technology, and board exam fees into a program fee assessed at the start of the second year of the program.

Continuing Education (per credit hour)

  • MBA Program (Domestic): Students enrolled in a non-residential (online and distance) MBA program are charged this rate. 

  • International Courses: This fee is utilized when offering specialized distance coursework to select international audiences.

Credit for Prior Learning Fee (per project): Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) is designed for special projects such as papers, experiments, works of art or portfolio assessment of prior learning. The fee for each project is tied to the two hour undergraduate resident tuition rate and assessed for each CPL application.

Immunization Record Late Fee: Students who have not provided the required immunization or waiver documentation are assessed this fee. The fee covers the cost of individual mailings and follow-ups to students who are late providing the state required information.

Self-Paced Online Course: Self-paced, individualized instruction provided remotely in various transmittal formats such as the web, video and print material. 

Study Abroad Fees

  • Administrative Fee: Assessed upon acceptance to all study abroad participants to support the cost of application processing and securing student study away placements.

  • Program Fees – Academic Year: Assessed to full academic year-long study abroad students to support the long-term administrative and academic coordination required for a full year of study abroad.

  • Program Fees – Semester: Assessed to full-semester-long study abroad students to support the long-term administrative and academic coordination required for a full semester of study.

  • Program Fees – Short Term: Assessed to study abroad students participating in short-term programs to support the specialized logistical planning and administrative oversight necessary for faculty-led or intensive summer and winter break programs.

  • Program Fees – Non-UNI/Consortium Program: Assessed to non-UNI programs or consortium study away students to support the logistical, administrative, and academic coordination of students in external or partner-led study away opportunities.

Course/Lab Fees

Some courses may have a specific fee to pay for materials used throughout the course. These fees are listed within the course section information in the Schedule of Classes each term.