Higher Education Sustaining Contributions

As a membership organization, Internet2 and its members have an interest in Internet2 operating in ways that treat individual higher education members as consistently and fairly as possible. The Internet2 fee model for higher education members addresses those fees that a member pays simply because it is a member and recognizes these as funding to sustain the core of Internet2’s operations. These fees are known as Sustaining Contributions (SCs), and consist of two components: membership dues and network participation fees. Both membership dues and network participation fees are required components for Internet2 membership.

The calculation of any single institution’s SC is based on two institutional financial scale factors:  total annual expenditures, and total annual research expenditures. These two financial factors are derived from institutionally self-reported data to IPEDS (the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System). Periodically, Internet2 will update the years on which the two scale factors are based and calculate a new baseline SC for each institution. Once established, subsequent annual (baseline) increases to institutional SCs are determined by the Internet2 Board of Trustees.

The average total expenditure and the average research expenditure are utilized to calculate a member’s SC based on a formula designed to maximize consistency and fairness across all member institutions. The resulting SC is capped at an amount known as the MaxSC, and the minimum any institution will contribute is known as the MinSC.  

Special pricing does exist for some specific classes of higher education institutions and systems.  Details regarding the model design, data sources, and various special cases are detailed in this PDF.

Contact membership@internet2.edu with any questions or for further information about Sustaining Contributions (SC) specific to your institution.

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