COVID-19 Response — Campus Life and Amenities

Tuition and fees are determined as part of the University’s anticipated annual revenue and expenses during the annual budget development process.

Student Accounts and Tuition Rates

Federal CARES Act Student Emergency Grant

CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Reports

Student Emergency Grant FAQ and HEERF Report

Institutional Portion, HEERF Report

Technology is a key component of the infrastructure necessary to provide the desired curriculum and student experience. The technology fee helps fund some of the annual cost of licensing and maintenance for our core student software and technology services including the network, student enterprise system, course management system, and various other systems. These systems are designed to improve academic success and student services such as advising, degree audit, and mobile apps for student class information, schedule, and grades. 

In the past year, we replaced our wifi network across the St. Paul campus with a new, more secure, state-of-the-art system and launched a new application for students to find “how to” information and forms to request services. During the upcoming two years, we plan to integrate and enhance our degree planning, course planning, and registration tools to better align our course offerings to the needs and wants of our students, and we will continue development of security enhancements to protect and inform students on safe digital practices.

Student activity fees are charged to St. Catherine University students each semester. The fee is used to support the student governing boards, a wide variety of on-campus and online student groups, programs and events, and student service offices and programming. The fee and how it is allocated varies according to the different student populations to best support our students. We recognize the importance and value in maintaining our community for students during the pandemic, and the student governing bodies and student groups continue to meet online.

The Clinical and Assessment Fee is charged to undergraduate nursing students after they have been admitted to the major, for select terms when they are enrolled in courses determined by the Nursing department. This fee supports a range of expenses associated with the Nursing program, including securing clinical placements, development of the nursing curriculum, lab experience and equipment, and nursing board exam preparation program and services.

Those who are or were unable to complete their clinical experience due to COVID-19 will still be required to pay this fee, which supports the cost of securing and supporting a student’s placement into their clinical experience, as well as curriculum support for the nursing board exam preparation and services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous faculty and administrators are exploring and leveraging alternative technology options. This group is also working with accrediting agencies and clinical partners to ensure that experiences will move forward after this unprecedented crisis is over. The Clinical and Assessment fee will not be refunded for those clinicals that were not completed; however, there will be no additional charges when the clinical experience resumes.

Residence hall and meal plan rates are set annually as part of the overall University budget process following a thorough review of room availability and demand, facilities improvement and operational needs, contracted services and options, and cost to students and families. The 2020-21 academic year marks the second year our standard double room rate will remain flat and our third consecutive year that the Platinum meal plan, which is required for all first year College for Women students living on campus, will remain unchanged.

In response to COVID-19, St. Catherine University is committed to identifying ways to help students successfully progress with their education goals. We recognize students and families are experiencing many stresses right now, including income loss or other financial hardships, in addition to the challenge of transitioning to an online learning environment.

With consideration to students experiencing financial hardships, we are temporarily allowing students with a balance of less than $2,500 to register for the fall 2020 semester. What does this mean for students? 

• Registration holds will be lifted for accounts that have balances less than $2,500, which will allow students to register during their scheduled registration windows for the courses needed to progress and stay on track for graduation.
• Students will have extra time to pay down their student account balance without penalty. 

In addition, we are offering a COVID-19 Emergency Payment Plan for students with a balance greater than $2,500. 

• Students and authorized users who can actively make payments on their student account balance and want to get registered for fall, please contact Student Accounts at studentaccounts@stkate.edu.
• After a student has established a COVID-19 Emergency Payment Plan with a member of the Student Accounts staff, the student will be allowed extra time to pay down their student account without penalty and will be allowed to register for fall 2020, through August 3, 2020. 

We know it is important to you to stay on track academically; it is important to us as well. We also want our students to be financially successful, which is why students will be provided additional time to pay their student account balance. In addition, during this time, students will not be assessed finance fees. 

To protect students and their families from incurring a debt level that could create adverse financial circumstances, students whose balance was $2,500 or over, who did not have a plan for payment established with Student Accounts on Monday, August 3, by end of day, were dropped from their registered courses and a registration hold was placed on their student account. Students should work with their Financial Aid counselor as well as the staff in Student Accounts to find resolution. Once the balance becomes lower than $2,500 for fall 2020, the Registration Hold will be automatically lifted and the student can proceed with registration for fall 2020. 

Due to COVID-19, we have reduced the density of campus student housing for the fall semester, so that fewer individuals share common facilities, such as bathrooms, shower stalls, and community laundry rooms. The decrease in the number of total spaces available means that we may not be able to offer housing to all those who want to live on campus this fall.

During fall semester, all resident students will be assigned to a single bedroom in traditional halls, suites, and apartments. Additionally, we have limited the number of students sharing a bathroom to align with MDH guidelines.

• All students will be assigned to a single bedroom in traditional residence halls, suites, and apartments. Suites and apartments will be shared by up to four students.
• Up to three people will share a bathroom or common area bathroom stall.

In the traditional residence halls, every room students are assigned to, regardless of usual occupancy, will be used as singles for the fall. Housing assignments are subject to change for Spring 2021 based on possible updates or changes to public health guidelines. Please review the Housing & Dining Agreement for more information and changes since the COVID outbreak, which include but are not limited to: 

Please carefully review the agreement. Changes include but are not limited to:

• By opting into housing, you are agreeing to live on campus regardless of your room assignment. In order to maintain social distancing and recommended health standards, we cannot guarantee you a specific type of space or the space you may have requested during room selection for fall 2020. However, we will try our best to honor your preferences and roommate requests.
• Guest/Visitor policy — St Kate’s currently has a “No Visitor” policy for campus. This means anyone who is not a currently enrolled student or currently employed staff member may not be on campus. 
  • An Off-Campus Guest is a person currently affiliated with St Kate’s who does not currently live on campus. Off-Campus Guests are not allowed in the residence halls, but are allowed on campus.
  • An On-Campus Guest is someone who is assigned to a space in the residence halls and is visiting a room that is not their own assignment. A resident may have 1 On-Campus Guest in their specific bedroom living space at a time. Both parties must be wearing a mask and socially distanced during their visiting time. If the resident host lives in an apartment or suite, they must also obtain permission from their suite/apartment mates before hosting the on-campus guest.
• Social distancing policies and procedures, as set by the University, must be followed.
• Room change policy. Room changes will only be available on a case-by-case basis if circumstances are warranted. As mentioned previously, the amount of students on campus has been drastically lowered, however, to exceed MDH guidelines with one student per room, we have limited spaces available to move students. As a regular practice there is a hold on room changes until the third week of classes. Additionally, due to the complexities around room changes during COVID, room change requests may take longer (up to 2-weeks) to approve. Please refer to the Housing & Dining Agreement for additional details. Once a student has moved on campus they should contact their Area Director or Residence Coordinator to inquire about a potential room change.
• We are asking that each student develop a plan to move to a location off campus if they should need to quarantine or isolate. Should a student test positive for COVID-19 or be designated a close contact, alternative housing will be available as needed. New policies will be put into place for these students. Every student living on campus who needs to be in quarantine or isolation will receive a packet detailing the policies in place for quarantine and isolation. A failure to abide by these policies could result in the removal of the student from their on campus accommodation and cancellation of their Housing & Dining Agreement. 

Move-in appointments have been established to provide a staggered schedule for social distancing. Each resident is allowed up to 2 visitors to assist with the move in process and will have 2 hours to move in their items. Students should check their MyHousing account to sign up and/or verify the time they signed up to move in. We will not be able to accommodate more than 2 visitors per student on campus nor can we grant more than 2 hours per student. We recommend moving in the large and heavy items first and unpacking after all of the items are moved into the space.

Sodexo, which manages our food service, is also taking specific actions globally and locally to ensure the safety and health of those they serve. This includes ensuring access to essential personal protective equipment, developing alternative menus and serving options if there is an impact on the food chain, special instruction on preventing the spread of COVID-19, reinforcement of existing food safety policies, and increased cleaning and disinfecting. 

Sodexo has addressed COVID-19 health concerns eliminating some of the high touch points in the dining room.

• They have eliminated self-serve stations (ie. salad bar and soup bar).
• Salads will be pre-made and sold as grab and go.
• Soup will be served behind the counter through a Sodexo chef.
• All desserts will be individually wrapped.
• Fountain drinks have been suspended, but bottled beverages will still be sold.
• In general, there will be increased grab-and-go options available.

Meal plans and dining options have been adjusted to align with the selected housing options and campus-based activities to ensure all health and safety precautions are in place for on-campus food and beverage services. If students would like to order ahead, they can do so by visiting diningtogo.stkate.edu. All students, faculty, and staff will be encouraged to order and pay ahead for food and beverage services as we support contactless pick up.

The meal plan begins on August 27, 2020. Fall meal points end on December 20, 2020. The spring meal plan begins on February 1, 2021 and ends on May 20, 2021. Students who chose to live on campus during January Term may purchase a $200 or $300 J-Term meal plan for use between Jan. 2-Jan 30.