[Chad]

Supplementary Fees
By Chad Fullerton

Supplimentary Fees are manditory fees that we all, as students, are required to pay and they can add up to hundreds of dollars. You may have heard about them before or seen them on your tuition total, but where is that money going? What do you get for it?

The breakdown is below. It includes fees for various services, MSU fees, administrative fees, and faculty fees. Keep in mind that the MSU health and dental fees CAN BE OPTED OUT OF (you get around $140 back..) and you should do this if you feel that you won't need them. You can do so online with a request form and get a refund of these fees.

A GOOD thing here to point out is the cost of the HSR BUS PASS. We are only paying around $126 for 6 MONTHS worth of bus tickets. Thats a great bargain.

And now.. time for the breakdown!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2013/14 BREAKDOWN

2013/14

What exactly is the HSR bus pass?

HSR Bus Pass, referred to as the U-Pass, is the ability to show your Student Card (with a validation sticker) when you are boarding an HSR public transit bus anywhere in Hamilton and be able to ride it without paying or using tickets. Students use this to get to school by taking the bus (flashing their student cards and boarding).

It is valid any day and any time (24-7) until the end of the school year (when exams finish for second semester).

NOTE: The U-Pass is only available to students who pay fees to the MSU and GSA. That means full time undergraduate students (excluding medical school students and a few other small groups), and graduate students (not including MBA students). All other students at McMaster must pay standard adult fare in order to board HSR buses.

You can read more about the pass on the MSU website on this page.

i am so happy that we get this HSR special with our msu fees. it would cost a lot more to have to buy monthly passes.

So where exactly do we find the form to get out of the dental and health coverage? Cause I'm already covered.

Originally Posted by alyssabriere

So where exactly do we find the form to get out of the dental and health coverage? Cause I'm already covered.

Hi Alyssa,

In the post there is a note under those fees that says:

Note: For deadline dates and detailed information regarding opting out, students should consult the MSU insurance plans webpage at http://www-msu.mcmaster.ca/health

So when the time comes, you simply go to that website and opt out online

Thank You!

A monthly HSR pass is $71.00. We get 8 months for that price, if I'm not mistaken (prices have changed since the last academic year, so I'm not sure).

And the opt-out isn't available quite yet I don't think...last year it wasn't available until late September or early October I believe.

I was always curious about what the "Supplementary Fees" were, considering that on my Payment Agreement there are $800 worth of them!

hi i dunno how my supplementary adds up to 850.90 and i'm in science.
also since i'm plannign to opt out the health and dental fee i will save $140..so hopefully i can use that amount to cover my tuition and rez. but is there anything else i can opt out of and save some $$? thx

not really, no.

if you're in suite or apartment style get the lowest possible meal plan and cook for yourself....but i dont know if you're in bates or keyes, so...

how do i get the form for opting out of the HSR BUSS PASS?

I don't believe you can opt-out of the bus pass.

Here's the reason the MSU says on their FAQ page:

The short answer is that due to the nature of the agreement between the MSU and the HSR, it is not possible to issue refunds to students who do not require the bus pass.
If you want to know more, read on!

In order for a U-Pass program to benefit everybody involved, it must be revenue neutral. This means that the total revenue given to the transit agency (in this case, the HSR) must be equal to the amount it would have received from normal fares if the students did not have the bus pass.

In a sense, it works like the Canadian health care system. Everybody pays for the program, but different people use the system to different degrees, and everyone benefits from the program in different ways. In order for the pass to remain affordable (and beneficial) to everyone, more people need to put money into the pot than are actually using the system on a regular basis.

If the U-Pass were an opt-out program, and only the people who regularly used the bus contributed to the agreement, the pass would cost about the same amount as buying eight adult bus passes, almost eight times its current price. Clearly, if the pass cost this much, fewer students would choose to use transit it get to school, and driving to and parking on campus would become even more of a nightmare.

If you're not a regular bus-user, it may seem like a pretty rough deal thatyou pay the same amount for the bus pass as everybody else, but you're benefitting from the arrangement as well! If the system were opt-in, many students who currently take the bus would instead be driving to school. This would mean fewer available parking spaces, and much heavier traffic around the campus, particularly during peak travel times. If you live near campus, chances are good that your street would be even more crowded with people parking and walking to school to avoid paying to park in McMaster lots. Furthermore, if the demand for parking increases significantly, it's likely that the cost of parking permits would also increase -- especially if the University needed to build more parking lots! Parking structures cost between $10 000 - $20 000 per space, plus annual maintenance costs. Not having to invest in parking lots means more money (and more space!) for new buildings and greenspace on campus. Don't forget that all Canadians pay taxes toward road infrastructure for your car, regardless of whether or not they can drive.

Of course, there's also the environmental aspect of all this. Hamilton already has one of the highest rates of commuters in single-occupant vehicles. Without the bus pass, the numbers would increase further, creating even more smog in the city. 50% of air pollution is caused by motor vehicles -- even in Hamilton, an industrial city. No one wants to be breathing in particulate matter!

http://www.msu.mcmaster.ca/kb/?View=entry&EntryID=6

2013/14 fees breakdown:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/bms/student/p...s_included.pdf

When paying for McMaster within SOLAR you pay tuition + student fees. Student fees include a whole bunch of different things.. some you can opt-out of (and get money back) and some you can't. For example, MSU Dental and Health coverage you can opt-out in September and get money back - they sent a cheque. For first-year students, 'MacPass' (your pass for welcome week) is not opt-out and is a mandatory fee. You just register for welcome week online and the fee is included in the student fees.

Hi,
I was just wondering what exactly is the student organizational fee and if it is possible to opt out from this? Thanks!