RSU Proposes Increase in Academic Fees

Fees for some classes that require additional learning materials such as laboratory equipment, chemicals and other classroom supplies will be increased next fall at Rogers State University, pending necessary approvals. The university also plans to implement new student retention and academic excellence fees.

The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, the governing board for RSU, approved increases in the academic service fees at its meeting on Wednesday in Norman.

The fee increases will be considered by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education prior to the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

“The university has experienced a need to raise some of our academic fees for quite some time, and has delayed any increases for as long as we could,” said RSU President Dr. Larry Rice. “Some classes, such as those in the laboratory sciences, require a greater amount of consumable supplies and as a result, are more expensive to offer. With that in mind, we believe it is fair to charge slightly higher fees for those classes.”

If approved by the state regents, academic service fees for various classes offered by the RSU School of Mathematics, Science and Health Sciences will increase from $25 to $35 per class. Those classes include biology, chemistry, physical sciences, zoology and others. Additional fees of $35 will be implemented for several classes in emergency medical services and nursing.

“Many of those classes require a significant expenditure for chemicals, laboratory supplies and waste disposal,” said Dr. Richard Beck, RSU vice president for academic affairs.

The RSU School of Business and Technology will implement an undergraduate enrichment fee of $5 per credit hour for business, computer science and sports management classes. Revenue generated by the fee will be utilized to improve professional development opportunities for students, provide new teaching software specific to business disciplines and improve program assessment and accreditation, Beck said.

The university also plans to increase its one-time graduation fee from $20 to $40 for all students, to be used to meet the increasing costs of diplomas and commencement exercises.

In addition, the university will implement a new student retention fee of up to $13 per credit hour for lower division classes (freshmen, sophomore) to support enhanced student retention efforts. Proceeds from the fee will be utilized to improve advisement, developmental education, early alert (at-risk notification and intervention), enrollment management, general education, institutional research, student orientation, tutoring services and strategic planning, Beck said.

An academic excellence fee of up to $12 per credit hour for upper-division classes will support learning experiences for juniors and seniors as they progress toward graduation, Beck said. This fee would also be phased in as needed over a period of two to three years. The fee will be utilized to fund community engagement and service learning projects, faculty development, international and cultural education, internship programs, learning resources, research and strategic planning.