Students splitting their education between the OU Health Sciences Center and Norman campuses may face challenges while transitioning from one location to the other.

Though both campuses carry the OU name, they are separate entities with differences that may affect scholarships, study abroad opportunities and access to student recreational facilities.

Jessica Cavner, speech pathology and communication sciences and disorders junior, said the scholarship she earned only applied to the Norman campus and did not transfer to the HSC.

Andrea Fowler, communication sciences and disorders senior at the HSC, said she was almost denied permission to study abroad with the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Media during May intersession because she was no longer a student on the Norman campus.

The Oklahoma College of Continuing Education notified her two weeks before leaving that she could not study abroad with the college unless she reapplied to OU-Norman, she said.

“It was ridiculous that I would have to reapply to the university,” Fowler said.

As a student at the HSC, Cavner cannot utilize Goddard or the Huston Huffman Center in Norman. She pays fees for the HSC athletic facilities, but like some HSC students, Cavner lives in Norman so the Huffman Center is more convenient than the HSC gym. HSC students can buy semester passes to the Huffman Center for $100.

Cavner said it would be more convenient if students could choose which gym they wanted to use.

Ciera Fegel, pre-occupational therapy sophomore, said she will attend the HSC to finish her degree. She said she was unaware scholarships might not transfer. Cavner and Fowler both said they also were surprised at many of the disconnections between campuses.

“[The HSC] is definitely completely different from OU-Norman,” Fowler said.