Increases to tuition and fees requested by 15 public colleges and universities were all approved Thursday by a board governing Oklahoma higher education.
Tuition and mandatory fees for resident undergraduate students will increase at an average of 1.9% statewide, or just over $121 annually, after the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education approved requests impacting over half of the institutions they govern. University and college presidents presented their requests to the state regents Wednesday.
While 10 colleges and universities did not request increases, many of the presidents that did cited inflation or rising insurance costs as the reason for needing more revenue.
Regent Dustin Hilliary said while Oklahoma is not a “big, rich state” that can appropriate billions of dollars to colleges and universities like other states, the state regents worked at the state Capitol to secure funding.
“We did have a good effort in the halls of Capitol to hopefully get some legislative funding so that we didn’t have to have these tuition increases where our students are bearing the cost,” he said. “… And I think that we’ll probably be chasing those same dollars next year.”
The state Legislature appropriated $1.1 billion to the state regents for next fiscal year, which is about $80 million more than the current budget year.
Despite the increases, all Oklahoma public colleges and universities remain below the threshold set by the Legislature to keep higher education in the state affordable and below the average cost of peer institutions. Attending Oklahoma colleges and universities is averaged to be 74% of the cost of peer institutions, according to a news release.
The regents approved requests from:
- University of Oklahoma for a 3% increase, or $9.80 per credit hour,
- University of Central Oklahoma for a 2.6%, or $7.53 per credit hour,
- East Central University for a 3.8% increase, or $10 per credit hour,
- Northeastern State University for a 3% increase, or $7.70 per credit hour,
- Northwestern Oklahoma State University for a 3.5% increase, or $8.75 per credit hour,
- Southeastern Oklahoma State University for a 3.6% increase, or $9 per credit hour,
- Southwestern Oklahoma State University for a 2.7% increase, or $7.13 per credit hour,
- Langston University for a 3% increase, or $6.93 per credit hour,
- Connors State College for a 0.6% increase, or $1 per credit hour,
- Murray State College for a 2.3% increase, or $4.20 per credit hour,
- Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College for a 2.9% increase, or $5 per credit hour,
- Oklahoma City Community College for an 8% increase, or $10.77 per credit hour,
- Rose State College for a 2.3% increase, or $3.78 per credit hour,
- Seminole State College for a 3.1% increase, or $5 per credit hour, and
- Western Oklahoma State College for a 3.2% increase, or $5 per credit hour.
Increases at public regional universities averaged 2% annually and 1.8% for public community colleges. OU was the only research university that had an increase as Oklahoma State University did not request any changes to tuition and fees.
State law also requires the regents to increase financial aid in tandem with increases in tuition, which will be a 5.3% increase, according to a news release.
Regent Dennis Casey, board chair, said he appreciated the work that had gone into the requests and that it had been years since some of the colleges and universities requested increases.
“I don’t worry about a whole lot of other decisions that I have to make here,” he said. “But this one is a big one, and I know it is for these members too. We don’t take it lightly.”
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