The Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents today approved a $16 per credit hour special course fee on a graduate level nursing practicum to take effect with the summer 2020 semester.

The new fee will be added to the NS629 Advanced Health Assessment Practicum to help cover the cost of liability insurance for masters degree level nursing students during their clinical coursework.

Nursing students are required to maintain liability insurance throughout their nursing program once clinical coursework begins, said Kathy Mangels, vice president for finance and administration. Currently, Southeasts undergraduate nursing program has a $16 course fee to cover the cost of the Department of Nursings paid liability insurance, but masters level nursing students do not pay this fee. Graduate students currently purchase their own insurance for approximately $100, so this will be a savings, she said.

The Advanced Health Assessment practicum course is offered in the summer semester after a graduate students first academic year of coursework. By attaching the course fee to this course, students currently pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, will have a full year of insurance coverage purchased on their behalf by the Department of Nursing, which will cover all their student practicum, Mangels said.

A subcommittee of Southeasts Budget Review Committee (BRC) comprising representatives from the Deans Council, Chairpersons Forum, Faculty Senate and Student Government review and endorse special course fees.

These fees, attached to a limited number of courses, are assessed to cover the cost of consumable supplies or other expenses that are unique to a course. Formalizing the up-front billing of these expenses avoids surprise costs to students after they enroll. This process also makes course fees eligible for the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits that the student or parent may claim, Mangels said.