Understanding your Student Fees

A portion of the funds to operate PSU is paid directly by every student as a condition of enrollment in the form of mandatory fees, which includes the Student Building Fee (SBF), the Student Incidental Fee, the Health Service Fee, and the Academic and Student Recreation Facility Center Fee. The Student Fee Committee (SFC) is responsible for recommending the Student Incidental Fee and Student Building Fee allocations and amounts to ASPSU and the University President under Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS). Read more about each fee below:

• The Student Building Fee ($45) is used to pay the debts of buildings on campus and some special projects on student building improvements for safety, inclusivity, accessibility etc. This fee is allocated to pay debt service associated with past construction and renovation projects on the PSU campus. Any additional funds collected are put into a reserve or used for small construction projects.
• The Student Incidental Fee ($374) pays partially or fully for 25 Fee-Funded areas like Athletics, resource centers, and ASPSU, including professional staff and student worker wages and benefits.

The incidental fee is allocated according to each Student Fee Committee's funding philosophies, which further define what is outlined in their SFC governing documents. 

Step 1. Seven members of the Student Fee Committee are elected by the student body and then conducts an annual budget review process to develop a Student Incidental and Building Fee recommendation. 
Step 2. The Student Fee Committee then presents their recommendation to the ASPSU Senate to vote on, then the University President to present to the Board of Trustees. 
Step 3. The Board of Trustees sets the new fee rate and then communicates this recommendation to the student body. 
Step 4. The student body pays this fee in exchange for programs, services, and opportunities from the areas funded fully or partially by the Student Incidental Fee. The SFC maintains consistent communications with fee-funded areas throughout schedule reporting in the budget process.

The 25 fee funded areas include 5th Ave Cinema, ASPSU, Athletics, Campus Rec, Confidential Advocacy, Cultural Resource Centers, DREAMer's Resource Center, Helen Gordon Child Development Center/Infant & Toddler Centers, KPSU, Littman and White Art Galleries, Organizational Budget Council, Pacific Sentinel, Pathos, Portland State Production Services, PSU Smallwood Food Pantry, Queer Resource Center, Rec Clubs Council, Services for Students with Children, Student Activities and Leadership Programs, Student Legal Services, Sub-Basement Studios, Smith Memorial Student Union, Vanguard, Veterans Resource Center, Women's Resource Center

Commonly Asked Questions 

• What is the Student Incidental Fee Rate? Why do I pay for this?
  • This year’s Student Incidental Fee Rate for students taking 8 or more credits is $374. This fee pays for partially or fully Fee-Funded Areas (FFAs) like Athletics, resource centers, and ASPSU, including professional staff, student worker wages, and ELSAs (to name a few things)!
• What is the Building Fee Rate? Why do I pay for this?
  • This fee is allocated to pay debt service associated with past construction and renovation projects on the PSU campus. Any additional funds collected are put into a reserve or used for small construction projects.
• Does this year’s SFC decide this year’s fees?
  • The current Student Fee Committee recommends the budget allocation and fee amount for the next year.
• Does SFC decide tuition?
  • No, the Student Fee committee is only in charge of the Student Incidental fee and the Student Building fee. However, if you are a student looking to get involved in the Tuition setting process please follow this link to the Tuition Review Advisory Committee!
• How can I opt-out of services I don’t use, like SHAC and Campus Rec?
  • Unfortunately, the fees that go to those services are mandatory and every student has to pay them regardless of whether they use them or not. 100% of the rec fee goes to paying off the rec center building debt and building expenses. This fee was approved by students in a campus-wide vote.This is because those fees are used to pay debt services for buildings and other services available on campus/online.
  • In addition to providing direct clinical services, SHAC staff promote the health and wellbeing of our campus community by serving on campus committees such as the Incident Management Team, CARE Team, Bias Review Team and Healthy Campus Initiative. SHAC staff also provide response and guidance to the campus community when the campus experiences health or mental health emergencies such as pandemics, outbreaks, TB, suicide and sexual assault.  If students do not wish to utilize SHAC for their personal health care, they still benefit from having health officers on campus dedicated to cultivating a culture of health, care and wellbeing at PSU. To see a comprehensive list of what is covered by the SHAC Health Center Fee, access the list of services and resources.