Pre-credit fees will go up again in fall with the majority of this increase being used to find the new student health clinic in the Campus Activities Center.
The university can choose to increase the “combined fee” by 5 percent per year as long as the total cost of the fees stays under 40 percent of base tuition, currently $41.32. This group of fees is comprised of activities and service, athletics and health fees, which costs students $30.27 per credit hour.
Now the USFSP campus board, the governing body of the university, will decide how the additional $1.51 will be spent. To assist in the decision, the board turned to the Student Fee Committee, which is made up of students, faculty members and administrators.
The committee agreed unanimously to recommend an allotment of $1.26 to the health fee, 25 cents to the A&S fee and no increase to athletics. Student Government passed a non-binding resolution in support of the allocation with a near unanimous vote, with only one abstaining member.
As the debate during the Jan. 11 General Assembly meeting heated up, Student Life Director Matt Morrin reminded the senators that their vote was not about whether or not to establish the clinic, but rather to fund it. “We’re way into the game, already,” he said. However, he added, “Your support means a lot. Our board takes your voice seriously.”
He asked the Senate to decide based on the question: “Would the average student be willing to pay $15 per semester to see a nurse?”
The decision to build a health clinic goes back a decade, said Student Achievement Director Diane McKinstry. “We came close 10 years ago,” she said, but “it just didn’t happen.” The issue “percolated” again over the last three to four years, she said, as the university has provided on-campus housing.
Parents looking to send their kids to USFSP ask “Where’s my kid going to go when he has a raging fever,” McKinstry said.
Despite an abundance of local hospitals, “it’s not the same,” she said. About 30 percent of students had no health insurance as of a few years ago, she said. The federal health care law passed in March 2010 has helped that, as students can stay on their parents’ healthcare plan until they turn 26, but even then it can be difficult for students to transfer their information and records to a local care provider, McKinstry said.
Despite two years of increased funding for the health fee, the health center will begin operations with limited services. The funding dilemma, McKinstry said, is that fees increases are capped by the state legislature, and once fees are put into place, they can’t be easily shifted.
When building the health center was approved, the health fee was at 60 cents per credit hour, McKinstry said. Increases last year in combination with the planned increase this year will raise that figure to $3.90 per credit hour. The university estimates that it will take about $500,000 per year to fully fund the operation of an independent health clinic.
The $1.26 increase “gets us much closer to the ballpark,” McKinstry said. In the meantime, the university plans to contract out the staffing of the clinic and will issue a request for procurement at the end of the month. Until the request starts getting interest, it’s not clear what kind of staffing and services the clinic will be able to provide at its launch.
“We’re working on the bare minimum,” SG President Courtney Parish told the general assembly. The goal is to have a resident nurse on campus, she said.
The health fee fund currently has a balance of a little over $300,000, a result of years of low-fee trickle, which will be used to furnish the new clinic. At full operation, the center hopes to provide comprehensive medical care including acute care for illness and minor injuries; sexual health care and education; immunization; physical exams; and some on-site lab services, in addition to a developed referral network and an after-hours hotline.
The clinic won’t “just be handing out aspirin,” said SG Chief Financial Officer Alex Moser, referring to a complaint by Senator Michael Jernigan at the SG meeting.
“Having a free clinic for students … is a big improvement to our campus,” Moser said. As for diverting fee increases to the health center: “It’d be silly to facilitate the room, build it and then have no one to work there,” he said.
After the allotment of this year’s fee increases, Moser doesn’t believe that it will take any more dramatic shifts to keep the clinic on schedule for staffing. In the future, the distribution will be much more equal, he said.
The building of the student union building, known now as the Multipurpose Student Center, was paid for by a one-time fee increase of $13 approved in 2010.
“Campuses like ours … are less developed than the main campuses,” McKinstry said. As the regional campuses have increased autonomy, scope and services, they’ve had to play catch-up, she said.
At full operation, the clinic hopes to employ a physician, nurse practitioner, registered nurse or licensed practical nurse, receptionist and a health educator. Reaching this goal will depend on usage, possible contracts with local practices and continued support for the center, McKinstry said.
The health center will open once the renovation of the CAC is completed, which is scheduled for July 1.
Email: news@crowsneststpete.com
Photos by Daniel Mutter
