DE MINIMIS INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS

ELIGIBILITY

If the number of fee-based degree enrollments in a tuition‐based course comprises more than five students AND more than 30% of the total course enrollments on the Census Day of the quarter, the fee-based degree program is expected to share proportionally in the course instructional expense.

If the number of fee-based degree enrollments in a tuition-based course do not meet BOTH above criteria, they’re deemed to be a de minimis use of state resources. The fee-based program is not required to pay any of the course instructional expense. If you have questions about how costs are shared, please contact the Continuum College Liaison team at ctnmlias@uw.edu.

CALCULATION

The proportional share of the instructional cost of the tuition-based course is based on the percentage of fee-based students who enroll in the course. Excluded from this calculation are:

• Fee-based students who choose to audit a tuition-based course
• Fee-based student enrollments in tuition-based independent study and directed study courses (e.g., 498 Independent Research; 499 Directed Research)

The instructional costs of the tuition-based course are calculated using the actual instructional salary and the actual teaching load of the primary instructor.

IMPLEMENTATION

“Course instructional expense” is defined as the salary and benefits of the primary instructor(s) of the course. Jointly listed courses will be aggregated to determine whether instructional cost-sharing must occur. Salary transfers will be recorded via Online Salary Expense Transfers (OSET) by the department receiving the credit.

EXCEPTION

The instructional cost-sharing de minimis policy criteria are applied on a per-program basis – not collectively for all fee-based degree programs whose students enroll in a tuition-based course.

Exceptions to applying the de minimis policy on a per-program basis may arise if individual fee-based programs fall below de minimis use, but cumulatively the fee-based programs from a single academic unit (or budget) exceed de minimis use.

For example, if four fee-based students from Program A and four fee-based students from Program B enroll in a single tuition-based course, each fee-based degree program is below de minimis use.

However, suppose both Program A and Program B are offered by the same academic unit (or use the same budget). In that case, the fee-based degree programs may have to pay a proportional share of the instructional cost of the single tuition-based course based on the cumulative fee-based enrollments from Program A and Program B.

If it is necessary to ensure a certain number of enrollment slots in a tuition-based course(s) will be guaranteed for fee-based degree students, a prior agreement must be made for the fee-based degree program to partially fund the instructional costs of an otherwise tuition-based course.

If a fee-based degree program makes specific arrangements to pay a portion of the instructional cost of a tuition-based course that differ from the methods described above, the alternative arrangements may be used if they meet all the following criteria:

• They do not inappropriately or disproportionately use state resources
• They do not inappropriately prevent tuition-based students from enrolling in tuition-based courses
• They pay a fair and reasonable portion of the instructional cost of the tuition-based course or tuition-based faculty member
• They are clearly explained and documented
• They are agreed-upon in writing by both the fee-based degree program and the academic unit that offers the tuition-based course or employs the tuition-based (state-funded) faculty member

In all instances, the academic unit must adhere to the policies of Academic Human Resources in treatment of faculty time and expense.