Beginning this fall, University of Iowa students will see fewer fees on their U-Bill. The Office of the Registrar, in collaboration with UI Student Government (UISG), has consolidated eight ad hoc fees into a one-time University Records and Documents Fee. Degree-seeking students enrolling for the first time this fall will be charged $225.

UISG President Rachel Zuckerman says that previous UISG administrations were strong advocates for the change and that current members also are proponents. “This fee change makes costs more predictable,” she says, “which allows students to budget for their college expenses.”

The new fee replaces the graduation and degree application, fax, diploma replacement, change of registration (add/drop), transcript, and one-to-five– and six-to-ten–day late registration fees.

The new consolidated fee can be covered by financial aid, an option unavailable for the eight fees it replaces.

“It also will allow for online transcripts,” says Zuckerman, referring to the now-free online transcripts available, “which students have been passionately requesting for the past few years.”

Larry Lockwood, assistant provost and university registrar, says the new consolidated fee lowers costs by increasing billing efficiency, more fairly distributes fee burdens across campus, and saves students money.

“This ‘nickel and dime-ing’ students is what bothers me the most,” Lockwood says, referring to the way numerous small fees can add up over time to drain students’ budgets.

Lockwood says the average student requests five transcripts after they graduate and adds or drops a course five times before graduating. Without the new Records and Documents Fee, those costs, combined with other fees, would cost the average student $250.

“Students shouldn’t fear a fee when choosing whether to add or drop a course,” says Lockwood. “This is another way we can enable their success and keep their costs down.”

Degree-seeking students enrolling for the first time this fall will be charged $225. Returning students will not be charged the new fee but will benefit from no longer being charged for the eight fees being replaced. Alumni and former students will similarly no longer be charged for accessing transcripts or diploma replacements.

Nondegree students will be charged a one-time fee of $75 upon their second enrollment. If they later decide to pursue a degree, they will be charged the remainder of the $225.