6.2.1 University Fees: Policy

ASSU Fees

The Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) fees are established by student vote in Spring quarter. Fees directly fund activities of student organizations and not the operations of ASSU.

Separate fees are set annually for undergraduate students and graduate students (see Stanford Bulletin).

Fees are assessed each term. All fees are refundable. Refunds can be requested during the first three weeks of each quarter on the ASSU web site. Those eligible are mailed refund checks by the eighth week of the quarter.

Document Fee

Stanford charges a one-time Document Fee to all students admitted to new degree or non-degree programs. The fee is paid once only, regardless of the number of degrees a student may ultimately pursue. It covers the cost of a variety of university administrative services such as enrollment and degree certification, course drops and adds done in Axess before published deadlines, diplomas, official transcripts and their production, and credential files maintained by the Career Development Center.

Health Insurance Fees

The University requires all registered students to carry medical insurance to provide coverage for services not provided by Vaden Health Center. Students are enrolled in and charged for the Stanford student health insurance plan, Cardinal Care, unless they have completed waiver procedures in Axess by the waiver deadline. Those who carry medical insurance through an alternate carrier are eligible to request a waiver of the health insurance fee.

Matriculated and enrolled graduate students receiving financial support from Stanford or from an outside source (either assistantships or non-tuition fellowships) will be eligible to receive a subsidy for up to one half the cost of their Cardinal Care premium (see GAP 7.1, Graduate Financial Support: General Funding Guidelines and Definitions).

Campus Health Service Fee

NOTE: This fee became effective at Stanford University beginning in Fall quarter, 2009-2010. See Vaden web site for additional information about this fee.

This required fee covers many services provided by Vaden Health Center, including primary care medical visits, psychological evaluation and short-term therapy at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and access to health and wellness programs. This fee is separate from health insurance, and applies to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled on the Stanford campus, including Visiting Student Researchers and students participating in high school summer programs that result in course credit at Stanford. It is not applicable to postdoctoral scholars, unless the scholar is concurrently matriculated in a Stanford degree program. 

Special Fees

School of Law Course Materials Fee—A fee is charged each quarter to School of Law students for supplementary course materials.

Graduate School of Business M.B.A. Course Reader Fee—A fee is charged each quarter to M.B.A. students in the Graduate School of Business to cover the cost of in-class handouts and copyrights.

Late Fees—Charges are imposed for late submission of study lists. The amount is listed in the quarterly Time Schedule.

Laboratory Fee—Students in chemistry laboratory courses are charged a nonrefundable fee.

Music Practice, Athletics/Physical Education/Recreation, and Dance—Courses for which special fees are charged are indicated in the Time Schedule.

Dissertation Fee—Each Ph.D. and D.M.A. candidate is charged a fee to cover the cost of microfilming and binding the dissertation and the cost of publishing the abstract. In addition, a fee is charged if the student chooses to copyright the dissertation.

International Scholar Service Fee—A one-time fee for visa authorization documents is charged for international postdoctoral and visiting scholars.

All charges and credits from offices within the university are aggregated in a student’s individual account and presented on the university bill. Student Financial Services sends the university bill electronically to students monthly. Students may view their account online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via Axess.

Students may pay their bills online through Stanford ePay or the bill and a payment stub may be printed.

Term fees, such as tuition, fees, room, board, and health insurance, are due and must be received on the 15th of the month. Online payments via Stanford ePay can be made up to midnight Pacific time on the 15th of the month. Mailed payments must be postmarked by 5:00 p.m. on the 15th of the month.

After the start of the term, adding units may result in additional tuition charges. Other fees, such as room damage repair charges, late fees, lab fees, and other miscellaneous fees, are due after they are billed.

Departments or programs who wish to pay any of the following university fees for a student may use the GFS system to do so:

• Cardinal Care insurance premium
• ASSU fees
• room and board fees
• document fees
• dissertation submission costs.

Departments may pay these fees for the student by approving a stipend payment and using the appropriate charge priority (see Implementation Guidelines, below). Approved payments will be applied to the student’s bill to pay the specified charge. A stipend payment with a charge priority of “Standard Charges” (STD_CHRG) will pay any of the above listed charges on a student’s university bill (with the exception of health insurance which must be paid separately), and will generate a stipend payment to the student for any money left over after the university bill is paid.

GFS requirements related to student eligibility for financial support apply to the payment of fees. Stipend payments, other than for health insurance, will be assessed the “Stipend Surcharge” to provide a Cardinal Care subsidy.