Student fee

A student fee is a fee charged to students at a school, above and beyond the normal tuition and matriculation fees. These may be charged for general student activities, for supporting student media and other student organizations, for intercollegiate or intramural sports or academics, or as a means of making-up for a shortfall in state funding at a public college (often called a technology fee). Other fees may be charged to students, such as for insurance and health (such as a school nurse), and optional fees such as for parking.

Constitutionality of activity fees in the United States

In the United States, the constitutionality of mandatory student activity fees has been adjudicated several times by the Supreme Court of the United States. Most recently, the court has ruled that public universities may subsidize campus speech by means of a mandatory student activity fee so long as fees are allocated to groups with viewpoint neutrality. See Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth 529 U.S. 217 (2000).

Other student fee cases

• Rosenberger v. University of Virginia, 515 U. S. 819 (1995)