Efficiency and innovation. That’s the reasoning behind the Health Sciences Department new fee increases.

Three programs, including the widely-popular nursing and radiological technology programs, will be affected by new application fees that may cost up to $50 per application, according to FAC chair Zach Beach.

The applications that Health Sciences receives, no matter what program, can take up to a few hours each for a professor to review and decide whether or not to accept a particular student, and the standards are not easy.

The Nursing and Rad Tech programs require a GPA north of a 3.0, and the entrance exam for the Nursing Program requires its students to take some of the more rigorous programs at CMU to even have a grasp on what will be on it.

The problem the department faced was some students who applied didn’t have the resume strength necessary to be accepted, and in some cases it wasn’t even close.

“It’s creating an incentive for students to add a fee,” Beach said. “Instead of applying to each area, it makes the process faster.”

As part of the Maverick Center expansion, some of the department’s facilities will be moved over to the Community Hospital area.

Lab fees for some classes will also be increased as some equipment will be replaced in the process.

“We felt like it was a reasonable request. These fees are going to help pay for their equipment,” Beach said. “Most schools initiate fees for applications, so it’s a pretty standard thing. Even other programs here have fees for applications to their Master’s programs.”

brjthomp@mavs.coloradomesa.edu