Upper Division Fees for College Courses

What is the “upper division fee” for the College of Technology, Architecture, and Applied Engineering?

The upper division fee is a per-credit-hour fee that is assessed on all 3000 and 4000 level College of Technology, Architecture, and Applied Engineering courses. This is in addition to the general tuition and fees that all students pay.  It is not assessed for 1000, 2000, 5000, 6000, or 7000 level courses. Students in 3000 and 4000 level courses in the college will be charged an additional $12.50 per credit hour for technology, architecture and applied engineering courses.

Do other programs at BGSU have these types of fees?

Several other colleges and programs at BGSU have these types of fees. The additional fees are needed when the cost of providing a student’s education in a program is significantly higher than the average cost university wide. College of Technology, Architecture, and Applied Engineering programs have higher delivery costs.

Do other technology, architecture, and engineering colleges at other universities have these types of fees?

Yes, in fact, 10 of the 12 public university technology, architecture, and engineering colleges in Ohio currently have some type of course fees. In many cases, these fees are applied to all courses (vs. only upper level courses) and range from $6.25 per credit hour to $42 per credit hour. Of the 10 public university technology, architecture and engineering colleges in the state that have a fee, the average is $21.80 per credit hour. BGSU’s upper division fee is $12.50.

What is the purpose of these upper level fees?

Two Engineering Technology programs in the college are newly accredited by ABET, Inc., and several other programs are accredited by the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE)). These types of accreditation provide students with more career opportunities but also require programs to have specialized labs with the most current equipment, software and other technologies. Fees from upper level courses will be used to ensure these specialized labs are appropriately equipped. Additionally, we believe it is important to maintain various high-impact, experiential learning approaches that include small class sizes, integrated labs, and co-ops. The new fees are needed to continue support of these services, programs, laboratories and equipment. Finally, as a college with programs accredited by top accreditation agencies such as ABET, we strive to continually recruit and retain world-class faculty. Faculty market salaries in the areas of technology, architecture and engineering tend to be higher than those of faculty in other disciplines at BGSU.