University of Maine Business School
MBA Program Fee Information
Background / Summary:
The Maine Business School began implementing a per-credit-hour travel program fee for students in the MBA program starting with the fall semester of 2006. The fee is being collected for the sole purpose of financing the travel costs of the required MBA international field experience for each individual student and spreading the collection of that cost over time. In addition to travel costs, students must also pay tuition for the course; the fees collected will not cover any of that cost.
The purpose of this document is to describe the fee, its purpose, and specific policies for implementation. These policies have been discussed and approved by signed agreement from the Provost of the University, the Dean of the College of Business, Public Policy and Health, the Chief Financial Officer of the University, the Dean and Associate Provost for Graduate Studies, and the Chairman of the Maine Business School Graduate Committee.
Please address all questions about this new fee Business Graduate Programs, at 581-1973 or mba@maine.edu.
Policies and Fee Details:
The MBA program fee is currently set at $60 per credit hour. However, given the rapidly increasing cost of travel, it will increase to $80 per credit hour beginning fall, 2009. At $60 per credit, we will collect $2,520 for each student over his or her 42 credit hour program. At $80 per credit, the total amount collected will total $3360. There is no guarantee, explicit or implied, that this amount will be sufficient to cover the costs of all trips. The Maine Business School will charge the student for additional costs of an individual trip but will make every effort to keep additional trip costs as low as possible.
The program fee will be attached to selected sections of MBA courses and will be added to the students’ tuition bills. MBA students who need to fulfill the international trip requirement will register for these sections. The fee is not refundable for any reason. Students who withdraw from the MBA program will not be issued a refund on program fees paid.
For each MBA class, we will create non-fee concurrent sections. These alternate sections will not have the per-credit travel fee, but the Maine Business School fee per business course ($25 per credit hour) will remain. Currently this fee is $75 fee per business course ($25 per credit hour). These sections are for registration of graduate students who completed the international trip course prior to the implementation of the fee (Fall 2006) or those who do not have the trip as a required course, for example, Master of Science in Accounting students.
If MBA students transfer in credits from other universities or take any classes without the course fee at the University of Maine, they will need to pay the appropriate program fee amount prior to the trip. If students take such credits (without the program fee) after they take the trip, they also will be charged the program fee amount during registration of their last term before graduation. For example, the distance MBA courses will not have course fees attached because of registration system programming limitations.
In the event a non-MBA student takes a non-fee section and later is accepted and enrolls in the MBA program, that student will be required to deposit the per credit hour travel fee for the courses taken for which no fee was assessed.
Students may not take the International Trip course until they have completed a minimum of 18 graduate credits.
International trips will be selected and itineraries managed such that the trip costs will correspond with the fees collected. The Maine Business School will not realize any surpluses from the collection of program fees. The fees will be used to cover all costs of the trip, including but not limited to:
- Air and ground transportation for students from point of departure.
- Hotels.
- Most transportation in the destination countries.
- Costs of most required events (e.g., museum entrance fees if required).
- Expenses and contribution to stipend for the participating faculty.
Meals are not generally covered, although some group meals will be included in each trip. Students will be expected to bring additional funds to cover most meals and personal activities.
