[summer]

Your Guide to Supplementary Fees!

By MAVIS VAZ, MACINSIDERS

As you slowly learn more and more about McMaster, you will find that the University is teeming with student services and facilities. Everywhere you turn, whether it’s towards athletics, the MSU, or simply the very buildings that you will find yourself in over your time at Mac, this school is a perfect example of ‘by the students, for the students’. As some of you may already know, part of the payment you make along with your tuition includes a list of ‘Supplementary Fees’. Unfortunately, this is all you are provided for the most part, a list. The list can be somewhat ambiguous on what the fees are actually for. For example, what exactly IS ‘Incite’ and what does the Athletics and Recreation Activity Fee entitle you to? Read on to find the answers to all the questions you may have about your Supplementary Fees!

The fees have been broken down into 3 sections:

• MSU Fees, applied to full time undergraduate students (those enrolled in 18 credits or more). Keep in mind that if you are enrolled in less than 18 credits, you still pay Supplementary Fees to support the McMaster Association of Part Time Students.
• Fees administered by non-MSU bodies
• McMaster University Fees, approved by MSU referendum

1. MSU FEES:

MSU Operating Fund
$108.55 for all MSU members – this fee goes towards all the services the MSU provides all McMaster students. Some examples of the services provided by the MSU are the Queer Students Community Centre and Undercovers, the MSU-run used bookstore. Check out the MSU website for a list of all the services they provide.

$6.94 – goes towards the operation of the Silhouette, the student-run newspaper

$2.13 – goes towards the membership for the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). OUSA lobbies the provincial government to implement policies that will help undergraduate students in their educational pursuits.

MSU Health Plan (optional)
$45.00 – among other benefits, with this plan, you are covered for 80% of prescription drugs, half of an eye exam and a new pair of glasses or contact lenses if you damage the old ones. To get more details of the Health Plan, check out the MSU website. Both the Health and Dental Plans run from September 1 to August 31.

MSU Dental Plan (optional)
$95.00 – among other benefits, this plan covers you for one full tooth cleaning and consultation per year as well as two wisdom teeth extractions. Visit the MSU website for further details

93.3 CFMU FM – Operating and Capital Fund
$15.93 – That’s right! Mac has its own radio station! This fee goes towards the operation of 93.3 CFMU – the McMaster on-campus radio station which provides plenty of student programming

Marmor – University Yearbook
$8.29 – each year you are enrolled in 18 units or more this fee is assessed to ensure that you receive a Marmor yearbook in your graduating

WUSC Refugee Scholarship
$1.34 – each year the MSU and McMaster students make it possible for one student who has been forced to leave his/her home country as a refugee to attend University

HSR Bus Pass
$94.80 - this fee gives you an HSR sticker valid for all Hamilton city buses (HSR) from September 1st to April 30th. This fee isn’t optional; the reason we get this great rate is because ALL undergraduate students pay for it.

2. FEES ADMINISTERED BY NON-MSU BODIES:

Athletics & Recreation Activity Fee
$101.99 – This fee grants you access to the basketball gym, pool, table tennis, squash courts, indoor track and outdoor facilities. This fee also grants students lower membership costs to the Pulse and the Climbing Wall

Student Health Services
$52.19 – Catch the flu? Need a check-up? This fee helps to provide support for the overhead costs of running on-campus clinic facilities, available at Campus Health Services, located in MUSC B101.

Incite Magazine
$0.87 – This magazine is published six times per academic year by Impact Youth Publications and 10,000 copies of this magazine are distributed in the McMaster-Westdale community. Visit their website to learn more about this great magazine, and how you can contribute pieces to it

OPIRG Fee (optional)
$6.88 – OPIRG is a student directed organization working on issues of human rights, the environment, and social justice. OPIRG provides free training workshops each term to assist students with developing skills. If you do not wish to support OPIRG, you can claim a refund three-weeks after the drop and add cut off date.

Solar Car Project
$1.00 – This fee helps fund the McMaster Solar Car Team whose goals include representing McMaster at international solar vehicle competitions and the production of solar-powered cars

McMaster University Student Centre Building Fee
$2.87 - per unit to a maximum of 30 units. This fund made the building of the Student Centre a possibility. This fee has been collected since 1988 and will continue to be collected until 2012.

3.McMASTER UNIVERSITY FEES, APPROVED BY MSU REFERENDA

Student Services Fee
$3.98 per unit to a maximum of 30 units -- This fee gives students access to the many services provided by McMaster University including the First Year Experience Office, the Centre for Student Development and Judicial Affairs. Check out the Student Affairs website for more information about what this fee covers

Administrative Services Fee
$1.06 per unit to a maximum of 30 units -- This fee gives students access to unlimited transcripts, letters of permission, deferred exam requests, etc

Athletics & Recreation Building Fund Fee
$2.65 per unit to a maximum of 30 units – This fund helps pay for the building and upkeep of the David Braley Athletic Centre.

In addition to these fees, you will be charged Faculty-specific fees which will go towards supporting the society associated with each Faculty:

Arts & Science Society 28.00
Commerce 184.53
Engineering Society 132.00
Health Science (Honours) Society 26.00
Humanities Society 15.62
Kinesiology Society 50.00
Nursing Society 215.82
Science 35.00
Medical Radiaton Science 119.73
Social Science 50.60

Hopefully, this list will address the majority of your questions regarding your Supplementary Fees. Remember that all of these fees are returned in some form or another to you, in the form of facilities and services. It is up to you to avail of these and make the most of the fees you pay!

how do i add the dental plan?

It's already included in your fees.
You can also choose to opt-out for those who wish to do so...

Originally Posted by Ivan Q.

It's already included in your fees.
You can also choose to opt-out for those who wish to do so...

If you already have better coverage than what the school offers than you are eligible to opt out. Early in the school year they should have advertising for opting out and how to do it, I know they did last year.

Then you just have to go to a website and provide information about the health and dental coverage you have and then at some point you will get an e-mail telling you that your cheque is avaliable and where and when you can pick it up.