If a student looks at the fees for the fall semester, that student will notice something new.

The administration added a $15 student health center fee to the list.

“The fee is to help fray the cost of running the health center,” said Dr. Terri Agee, vice president for business affairs.

She said the administration has the power to add fees not based on credit hours.

“A lot of excellent services the students can take advantage of are available at the center,” Agee said.

The health center provides students with several medical services such as first aid care, blood pressure checks, strains and sprain help, physicals, tetanus shots, TB skin tests and other tests.

“We’re always very careful to keep the costs as low as we can,” Agee said.

Doug Carnahan, dean of students, said the fee is a step in the right direction.

“The idea of a new rec center was proposed by the Student Senate five years ago,” he said.

“We’d like to see it happen.”

Carnahan said the fee will help offset the money taken from the general funds to run the center.

“Our health center has really evolved over the years,” he said.

Carnahan said the fee will also eventually go toward the student recreation center, which is in the planning process.

When the new recreation center is built, the plans are to have the health center within the building.

Therefore, any future fees will probably be a combination of a health and recreation facility needs.

“It’s a really good service,” Carnahan said. “For many years we’ve provided the health services at no costs.”

Agee said the idea had been in the works for several years, but was finally approved this semester.

She and Carnahan said the time was right for the decision.

“Basically, we held off as long as possible, but we felt the time was right,” Agee said.

The fee is a flat fee for each semester.

Agee said the fee may bring the students to use the center more than they do already.

Carnahan said other universities have fees, which may range from $50 to more than $100.

He said Missouri Southern is the only school he knows of that has a free health center.

However, in order to continue the services without hurting the budget and future students, the new fee was kept as low as possible.

“That’s the whole idea,” Agee said. “We want to provide a service and see that they have great health care.”

“I’m really excited about it,” Carnahan said. “But, it’s not to burden the students.”

The health center is located in Kuhn Hall. For more information on the services provided, call 625-9323.