Rogers State University will be forced to increase tuition by $6.75 per credit hour this fall as a result of inadequate state support, according to RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley.
Although the Oklahoma Legislature provided a modest boost in funding to higher education during its most recent session, the increase failed to compensate for declining support in recent years and will not cover the rising costs of utilities and health care for employees, Wiley said.
“Oklahoma continues to follow a national trend that shifts the cost of public higher education away from the state and onto the backs of students and their parents,” he said.
The tuition increase was approved on Monday by the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, the governing board for RSU.
The increase will allow the university to continue to add new degree programs, hire more full-time faculty members and enhance classroom equipment and technology, Wiley said.
This fall, students will pay tuition of $82.75 per credit hour, an 8.9 percent increase over the $76 per credit hour they paid last year. Non-resident students will pay $165.50 per credit hour, which is also an 8.9 percent increase.
“Even with the increase in tuition, students at RSU are still paying rates well below those charged at the state’s largest universities and far below institutions in surrounding states,” Wiley said.
In addition, the student facility fee at RSU will be raised by $5 per credit hour this fall, an increase that was actually requested by RSU students, who stated a desire to help pay for the university’s new Student Services Center. The fee increase is projected to result in additional revenue of $260,000 per year for the building. The student center is presently under construction and is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2008.
Fall classes begin at RSU on Thursday, Aug. 16. For more information, or to enroll in classes, call (918) 343-7546.