Nicholls State University Student Technology Fee Constitution

University of Louisiana System Student Technology Fee Expenditure Guidelines

Student Technology Fee Bylaws October 2024 Revision

Technology Fee Governance and Explanation of Student Subcommittee Scoring

Fee Definition and Authority:

The Student Technology Fee (Tech Fee) is governed by Act no. 1450 of the regular session and is under supervision by each institution in higher education. This fee is considered a supplement to current funds allocated by the University and by grants. In October of 2012, the Nicholls State University Student Government Association voted unanimous approval for the assessment of a technology fee of $5.00 per credit hour, up to a maximum of $100.00 per semester, effective in the Fall 2013 semester. In a memorandum dated July 19, 1999, Mr. Bobby Jindal clarified fee expenditure guidelines that went into effect September 1, 1999. An updated memo from the University of Louisiana System was provided on June 24, 2021 and can be found in the Policies/Guidelines tab. All Tech Fee requests must follow these guidelines.

Committee Makeup:

The Student Technology Fee Committee is comprised of nine (9) students and eight (8) faculty/staff members giving the students a majority. Student makeup is composed of the Student Government Association President (or designee) and Vice President, one (1) student from each college, for a total of five (5), and two (2) students at large appointed by the SGA President. The faculty/staff makeup is composed of one (1) faculty member from each college, for a total of five (5), one (1) from the library, one (1) from Student Affairs, and one (1) from Student Life. The ex-officio members that do not have voting privileges include:  Director of Academic Computing, Chief Information Officer, Member of University Administration, and all Instructional Technology Specialists and Computer Specialists from Academic Computing.

Scoring of Proposals:

Points are given for each section and represent a weighted average. Sections with higher point totals indicate sections that are given greater consideration. Proposals are scored on a cumulative basis and are ranked by the total cumulative score. Those proposals ranking highest have the highest chance of being undertaken. The overall constraint is the amount of budget available for projects. In the event of a tie and only one project can be undertaken, the Tech Fee Committee will determine who shall get funded. An example scoresheet is posted below:

Procedures for Funding:

As per Mr. Jindal’s guidelines, Nicholls State University has instituted a Student Technology Fee Plan. Line items inserted into the fee plan are composed of proposals from university colleges, from departments, and from the students.

The committee is first required to pass an overall budget that outlines the major categories of expenditures. In lieu of a Technical Review Committee, Academic Computing serves in this capacity and ranks the technical merit of each proposal and determines whether it fits into the overall plan for technology at Nicholls State University. If a proposal fits the description of technology, Academic Computing determines whether it is technically sound and whether human resources are available to implement and maintain all current production.

After the technical review is complete, the proposals are then submitted to the Student Technology Fee Subcommittee for consideration. The subcommittee scoring process usually takes place in late October or early November. The subcommittee makes their recommendations to the full committee where a vote is held to decide which proposals will get funded and for what amount. Upon approval by the full committee, each funded proposal is inserted as a line item into the Student Technology Fee Plan, and notifications are sent to each proposal originator informing them as to whether their proposal was Fully Funded, Partially Funded, or Not Funded. Minutes of these meetings are kept, which detail the discussion and debates on specific items and of the budget.

Presentation:

The subcommittee may request the applicant to give a 5-minute presentation to further explain their proposal.  The applicant will be contacted by Information Technology if a presentation is required.

Proposal Submission Instructions:

Applicants must complete the online proposal located at the following link:

Student Technology Fee Proposal

To complete the Student Technology Fee Proposal, all quotes and sources of pricing must be attached to the proposal through the online forms system. Quote documents CANNOT be screenshots of website shopping carts. Proposal items should be sought from State-contracted companies first. If your proposal includes specialty items specific to your department (science, band, art, culinary, etc. equipment) please make sure your vendor is reputable and takes payment in the form of a purchase order. In addition, applicants must complete the Budget Information document located at the following link:

Student Technology Fee Grant Proposal Budget Information Sheet

We recommend downloading the Budget Information document to your computer, filling it out in a PDF reader software (like Adobe Acrobat) before attaching it to the online form. Filling out the form in your web browser may have adverse side effects.

The completed online proposal must be submitted and approved by your routing approval authority through the Online Forms system NLT 2:00 PM on the second Friday in October. Additional supporting documents should be attached to the online submission that include any quotes and/or sources of pricing generated while working on the proposal, especially for specialty items. Additionally, a proposal which includes a shopping list of individual items needs to be prioritized, in case funds cannot cover the entire proposal.

Awarding of Winning Proposals:

Once proposal funding decisions are finalized, the Tech Fee Administrator and the Purchasing Office will work together to start purchasing items from each proposal. Due to the lengthy timeline of the submission cycle and the funding decision process, some quotes may need to be renewed. Other projects, as a result of their total amount, may need to go through a bidding procedure. The goal is to purchase and receive each proposal item before the Fiscal Year deadline of June 30th. Additionally, there is no guarantee that your proposal items will be deployed or completed in time to use prior to the Fall Semester. The Academic Computing staff and Contract companies require available time and space to deliver, install, and test the equipment without disrupting Spring semester classroom operations. If these items are needed in a sensitive timeframe, please contact Academic Computing before the end of the semester to determine if it would be possible to expedite the deployment of these items.

Inventory of Awarded Items:

Items purchased for funded proposals will be added to the inventory of the Department or College of that proposal and become that entity’s responsibility. Malfunctions or issues with Tech Fee purchased equipment should be communicated immediately to the Academic Computing staff for potential fixes. Any repair issues that are unable to be resolved by the Academic Computing team, that also take place after the end of the warranty period, will be the financial responsibility of that Department or College. Items funded with Student Technology Fees MUST continue to adhere to the State’s Technology Fee guidelines, as they must be accessible for student use and MUST NOT be placed in faculty or staff employee offices.

Match Grant approvals will be processed on a case-by-case basis and requested through the Committee Chairman and Co-Chairman via a Student Tech Fee Cash Match Request Form. Cash Matches can only be used to purchase Technology as defined in the ULS FB-IV.V.-1 Student Technology Fee Expenditure Guidelines document and according to the Committee Bylaws (See the Policies / Guidelines Section above). To receive a Cash Match, the requestor must be prepared to provide the following information:

• The title of the grant to be matched.
• The type and amount of the grant to be matched.
• The total amount of the technology portion of the grant requested.
• A detailed list of the technology items to be purchased and accompanying quotes.

If a Cash Match is approved, the Chairman will draft an approval memo explaining the Cash Match commitment from the Student Technology Fee Budget. A copy of that memo will be distributed to the requestor, to the Controller’s Office, and to the Office of Sponsored Programs and Institutional Research. The following purchasing stipulations will apply to the Cash Match:

• All Cash Match purchases will be processed directly from the annual Student Tech Fee Budget fund by the Student Tech Fee Administrator, or by the Purchasing Office with the Student Tech Fee Administrator’s approval.
• The requestor will have one full fiscal year to purchase the items requested. Any remaining or unused funds at the end of the fiscal year will automatically be transferred back into the Student Tech Fee Surplus Fund to be used for the next Student Tech Fee cycle. If the outside grant to be matched involves a multi-level tier schedule the grant match will be rolled over to accommodate the year in which the technology will be purchased. There will be no extensions permitted.
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Student Technology Fee Annual Reports for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Signed

Student Technology Fee Annual Reports for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Signed