Editor’s Note: This version has been updated since the print edition on April 30. Details with more accurate information about the Nursing Program Fee were added after Student Financial Services confirmed the cost.
Point Loma Nazarene University students are charged additional course fees on top of tuition, and multiple faculty members said they make efforts to ensure students do not pay more than necessary outside of the tuition cost. Nursing students experience the most expensive major with a “Nursing Program Fee” on top of tuition that increased this year for the first time in 10 years, according to Monique Sawyer, associate dean of the program. This year saw a $250 increase per semester from last year, from $3,000 to $3,250, according to Kevin Kemp, director of Student Financial Services.
Some students seemed surprised by it, and they didn’t know there was a fee until they were in their first year. Some also said they did not know what the fee money goes toward, as it isn’t listed on their financial statements. However, Sawyer said she makes a point to mention it to prospective students on Preview Days and Welcome Week. The fee is also listed on the university website, but it does not include details on what it goes toward.
PLNU students are required to pay a range of additional course and program fees on top of tuition, with some majors incurring significantly higher costs than others. These fees vary widely between departments and have caused confusion and frustration for students, especially when the costs are not clearly explained or anticipated.
Sawyer said the nursing fee is distributed three ways: 55% toward clinical faculty pay, Complio and ADB (American DataBank) software programs, skills lab/simulation lab supplies, equipment and maintenance and preceptorship expenses; 35% toward books, the national board exam preparation and software, including Wolters Kluwer and ExamSoft, so students do not have to pay out of pocket for textbooks; and 10% toward accreditation and state licensure fees.
Sawyer said she doesn’t know where a good place would be to list the specific information about the fee, so as of now, it falls on the students to inquire for themselves.
Nicole Pyzer, a second-year nursing major, said that when she toured the school, she remembers being told about the fee that would be added beginning in her second year.
For students like Reaves Dayton, a third-year nursing major, who did not tour the school, she was unaware of the fee until it showed on her financial statement.
“I wasn’t going to withdraw from the program, so I sucked it up and paid it,” Dayton said.
Yet Dayton said she still doesn’t know what the fee is for, and the recent increase raised her concerns.
“Something that goes up and you don’t even know where it’s going doesn’t make sense,” she said.
Brooke Kasmedo, a fourth-year nursing major, said she’s been told by professors that the fee is for clinical instructors’ salaries.
“I didn’t realize that we had [the fee] until my first semester in the program,” Kasmedo said. “For most people, $3,000 isn’t just a drop of a hat. It takes time to get that money together to pay.”
Azusa Pacific University’s (APU) nursing program, another private religious university located in Los Angeles, CA, ranked top 25 in the state, has a $600 fee that’s remained the same since 2022 when she was a first-year student, according to Kiersten Moshier, a third-year nursing major at APU.
Moshier said she didn’t know about the fee until she officially joined the program in the second semester of her second year. She said she assumes the fee is to cover the cost of nursing-related materials, but doesn’t know the specifics.
The School of Humanities, Arts and Public Engagement (SHAPE)
SHAPE hosts the majors: multimedia journalism, communication, media communication, environmental science, languages, art, English, music, political science and history. Some of the majors face course fees ranging from $50-$100 in JRN (journalism), COM (communication), ESI (environmental science) and ENG (English). Lindsey Lupo, dean of SHAPE, said the fees often go to the cost of travel, such as attending a theatre performance or the Civil Rights Pilgrimage.
ART courses face a per-unit fee, starting at $25, depending on the course. David Carlson, assistant dean of the Art and Design Department, said that those fees go toward software/licensing, equipment repairs and maintenance, field trips, exhibitions and materials, such as clay, paint and metal.
Because ART courses can be taken for one to three units, it is more accurate to charge a per-unit fee to ensure students aren’t being charged for more than the supplies they’re receiving, Carlson said.
While art majors have to pay out of pocket for most of their supplies, including paint brushes and pens, Carlson said in an email interview that it’s because it is difficult to “gather a detail of all the supplies and equipment provided for students in contrast to what students have to pay additionally.”
MUA (music applied) and MUC (music) courses face much higher per-unit fees, the highest being $455. Daniel Jackson, professor of music, said the costs are to accommodate the one-on-one private lessons for a student.
“This charge is regarded as ‘best practices’ in higher education to keep the university financially viable for applied music lessons,” Jackson said in an email interview.
Fermanian School of Business (FSB)
FSB charges flat fees for ACC (accounting), BUS (business) and MGT (management) courses, ranging from $34-$80, depending on the course. Jamie Hess, dean of FSB, said some courses charge higher fees because the resources cost more.
The resources cover an Excel training module, CliftonStrengths assessment and coaching. They complete the Excel modules as homework assignments in class, Hess said. The strengths assessment is a way for students to identify their top strengths.
“In addition to taking the assessment, the students meet one-on-one with a strengths coach,” Hess said in an email interview. “The coach helps them have a deeper understanding of their strengths and to lead with self-awareness, build confidence and leverage their strengths in the classroom, internship and career.”
School of Behavioral Sciences
The School of Behavioral Sciences hosts the majors: sociology, psychology, theology and philosophy. There are flat fees ranging from $30-$500 in CMI (Christian ministry), PHL (philosophy), PSY (psychology) and SOC (sociology) courses.
Rebecca Laird, interim dean of the School of Theology and Christian Ministry, said the fees fund conference travel. Two courses traveled to Kansas City, MO, and Chicago. She also said fees are attached to some core courses required for majors to fund the school’s retreat to Julian, CA.
Holly Irwin, interim dean of the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences, said the cost for the SOC and PSY courses covers the required CITI training regarding research projects.
School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
In the School of STEM, EGN (engineering), MTH (math), CSC (computer science), ANA (anatomy), BIO (biology), CHE (chemistry) and PHY (physics) courses have a flat fee ranging from $50-$575, depending on the course. Matthieu Rouffet, dean of STEM, said the cost goes toward equipment used for labs. He said the school does not charge additional fees unless there is a laboratory component to the course.
There are currently MTH course fees, even though they do not have a lab; however, Rouffet said they will be removed next year. However, MTH 4091 will keep its fee due to it being an independent study and similar to a study abroad course, he said.
College of Health Sciences
KIN (kinesiology) has flat fees ranging from $100-$300 and per-unit fees from $20-$75, depending on the courses. ATR (athletic training) has a $250 flat fee. NUT (nutrition), which is a new addition to the college, also has per-unit fees starting at $20.
“We resist any new course fees or program fees when building new programs in the College of Health Sciences unless necessary because tuition is already a significant burden on students,” Jeff Sullivan, dean of the College of Health Sciences, said in an email interview. “We want to reserve new course fees only for costs that are in addition to what is covered by tuition.”
He also said the fees are reviewed each year to evaluate if they’re still applicable.
Course flat fees are considered “stable costs” for lab courses since they involve equipment and anatomical models – tools utilized each year. In the KIN general education activity courses, the fees are used to fund equipment, including balls, weights and golf courses.
Sullivan said per-unit fees are for courses where students get to choose how many units they’d like a class to count for. He said it funds tools such as cadavers, and the cost is spread evenly among the number of students or units enrolled.
For NUT courses specifically, the per-unit fees go toward buying ingredients for cooking labs, field trips, supporting students shadowing Sodexo employees and providing honorarium to guest speakers, according to Sullivan.
“We will thoroughly review the per-unit fee structure in the NUT courses and likely change many of them to a flat fee where costs are known and stable,” Sullivan said. “This may or may not decrease fees, but the attempt will be to align them very closely to costs, given any program changes over the past five years.”
School of Education
The School of Education charges flat fees ranging from $140-$385. Dean Deb Erickson said there are two kinds of fees: assessment and supervision. She said the assessment fee is for a data depository used by the school for its required accreditation purposes.
The other fees are for clinical practice required by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for certifications.
Professors and administrators from each school said they make efforts to reevaluate course fees each year to ensure students are paying an accurate amount for the accommodations outside of regular tuition.
The Point Editorial Staff