Understanding the Fees Requirements

CSU, Chico Class Field Trips To Gateway Science Museum

The GSM is delighted to serve as a resource CSU, Chico faculty and students. Course inclusion of the Gateway galleries and gardens as part of the students' course experience provides them a unique opportunity, while supporting our mission and strategic priorities. Faculty from numerous departments across campus have brought classes and students here, as part of their course experience, since we opened in 2010. It is our hope that faculty will continue to recognize the GSM as a valuable resource, and partner with us to ensure student access to the facility and surrounding grounds for years to come.

The University Field Trips / Student Access policy is designed to address unique aspects of our operations, as a campus and community resource. The GSM is a project of the Research Foundation, and classified as an enterprise. We operate under a complex set of arrangements between campus, Foundation, vendors, and other stakeholders. As such, policies for accessibility, liability, safety, security, staffing, and general oversight are necessarily unique from more traditional campus facilities.

The uniqueness of GSM offerings necessitate experienced GSM staff oversight at all times when visitors (including students) are present. This oversight ensures compliance with safety and security protocols for our facility, grounds, hosted exhibits, and visitor experience. While we appreciate and require each class be accompanied by a professor or approved chaperone, at no time may we allow the responsibility for general oversight, equipment setup, or introduction to exhibits to fall on non-GSM staff. Hence, there will always be a need for some level of GSM staffing of visits.

The fee structure for CSU, Chico class visits reflects necessary compensation to cover extra staffing. It is not a facilities charge nor a revenue source. Such compensation is essential to ensuring the health, viability and sustainability of the GSM, its gallery and garden exhibits, as a shared resource.

As always, I and the GSM staff greatly enjoy and value our partnerships with CSUC faculty and students, and are honored to serve you and your class in whatever capacity we are able. Please feel free to contact me at any time, with questions or concerns about our CSUC Class Field Trip program.