Q. What are broad based fee waivers?

Broad-based fees for institutions within the State University of New York (SUNY) are generally charged to all enrolled students to finance discrete activities that benefit the student body—excluding those activities that are part of the core instructional program. Buffalo State's broad-based fees include:

• Athletics Fee, which supports intercollegiate athletic activities
• College Fee, which support Buffalo State's operations
• Health Fee, which provides basic medical assistance to students via the Weigel Health Center
• Technology Fee, which provides enhancements to campus technology for students
• Transportation Fee, which funds Buffalo State's NFTA Metro Pass Program

Broad-based fees are intended to work in concert with SUNY's rational tuition plan, providing students and their families with information that will help them to plan for the costs of college. SUNY's expectations for campuses include:

• Student consultation through open forums
• Annual increases limited to 3%, to cover mandatory costs, expansion of existing services, provision of new services or upgrades to equipment. The fee base used to calculate the 3% cap encompasses all-broad-based fees, including the student activity fee.
• A rolling five-year plan for broad-based fees

Fee waivers are granted on a per-semester basis for Buffalo State students who meet one of these three conditions:

• Those who are enrolled in study-abroad
• Those who reside outside of Erie and Niagara counties and are  enrolled exclusively in on-line courses that never meet on campus
• Those who reside outside of Erie and Niagara counties and are enrolled exclusively in other types of classes that never meet on campus

Summer session is deemed one semester for consideration of broad-based fee waivers. 

For more details, please follow the link to the Finance and Management page below.