Many colleges advertise the cost of attendance by combining tuition and fees into one large number. The College Board reports that the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2015-2016 school year was $32,405 at private colleges, $9,410 for state residents at public colleges and $23,893 for out-of-state residents attending public universities. But how much of those price tags were for tuition, and how much was fees? It is worth deeper investigation.

For example, in spring 2016, SUNY—- Stony Brook University charged undergraduate New York State residents $8,854 and $2,385 in fees. To further complicate the situation, the $1,550 fees are “broad-based,” meaning they cover a large range of non-instructional expenses.

Many university fees and requirements were conceived long ago and are not designed with the online student in mind. Online students are often exempt from these fees or requirements without knowing it.

Because universities often bundle fees, it is difficult to know exactly how much money is allocated toward each sub-category of the bundled fee. More importantly, it obscures which fees an online student might successfully waive. Another layer of investigation is needed to determine exactly what sub-categories are included in broad-based fees.

Common fees that an online student might attempt to waive include:

— Transportation: Funding for campus shuttles and city bus passes.

— Academic excellence: Supports tutoring center and retention efforts.

— College: Supplements campus operational budgets and maintenance.

— Campus recreation: Maintains recreational facilities for students.

— Athletic: Funding for campus intercollegiate athletics and student fitness facilities.

— Health: Funding for campus health clinic, urgent care, or hospital.

— Student programming: Funding for visiting artists, concerts, and events.

— Student government: Funding for student government budget.

One might argue that such fees only benefit on-campus students. Campuses often don’t have a good accounting mechanism for determining which students should pay these fees and which students are exempt. Sometimes, all students are charged the fees, and at some schools, the fully online students may receive a refund later in the semester.

Such practices could negatively impact students receiving large amounts of federal financial aid. Because fees constitute a high percentage of a student’s total financial need, their financial aid will be calculated at a higher rate. If fees are successfully waived after aid has been dispersed, the student might need to pay back the excess aid, or the financial aid office could adjust the aid to be less in the subsequent semester.

Also, if a student is enrolled in a face-to-face degree program, he or she may have to request a fee refund for online courses — at some schools, fees won’t automatically be refunded for on-ground students who take classes online in a particular semester.

Beyond fees, almost all universities require new students to show proof of immunizations prior to course registration. Most campuses exempt 100 percent online students from this requirement. Usually, students must seek the exemption, and by the time the process sorts itself out, the most desirable courses could already be full.

The takeaway : Fully online students should ask about fee waivers and vaccination exemptions before blindly paying fees or getting needlessly vaccinated. Most campuses have developed a waiver process, though students ask the bursar or registration liaison about such policies early in the enrollment process.

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Waive Certain Fees as an Online Student originally appeared on usnews.com