Course Fees Bumped Up in ECC Health Professions Class

East Central College trustees approved a modification in the fee for courses in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at their Oct. 1 meeting.

Effective spring semester 2013, the fee will increase from $540 to $560 per course.

East Central is one of five colleges in the Missouri Health Professions Consortium that offers the program coordinated by the University of Missouri, School of Health Professions.

The one-plus-one associate degree program prepares students to practice as certified occupational therapy assistants after meeting certification and state licensing standards.

Admission to the OTA program is competitive with a new class starting sophomore level coursework every January.

The coursework originates from the University of Missouri campus and is conveyed to ECC students via interactive television and Internet-based technology.

Last year presidents from colleges in the consortium established a three year tuition and fee schedule. The consortium also recommended schools offering the program use the same fee structure.

The consortium can only establish charges for students enrolled in the professional level courses.

All other charges will be based on the district tuition rate at each college.