Tuition will increase by $6 per credit hour and the student activity fee will be raised by $4 per credit hour this fall at Rogers State University to help meet the demands of a rapidly growing student body and offset a slow recovery in state funding.
Since becoming accredited as a four-year institution, the number of students at RSU has grown by 42 percent and the number of credit hours in which they are enrolled has grown by 58 percent. In addition, the university introduced 14 bachelor’s degree programs and expanded services for students during that period.
To help accommodate the growth, RSU will receive an increase of just over $1 million in state-appropriated funds for 2005-2006. However, that amount is $216,409 less than the state provided in 2002-2003, when the university had fewer students.
“RSU has experienced phenomenal growth in the last several years, almost doubling in size in terms of enrollment,” said President Dr. Joe Wiley. “At the same, we have seen a reduction in funding from the state. Although we are committed to keeping tuition as low as possible, a small increase was necessary to protect the quality of our academic programs.”
The new tuition rate will assist the university in developing new bachelor’s degree programs, increasing the number of full-time faculty members and enhancing campus technology to meet the educational demands of area residents and employers.
The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, the governing board for RSU, approved the revisions to tuition and fees at its meeting on June 23. The new rates are expected to be approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education on June 30.
The increase in tuition follows a trend across Oklahoma and the nation in which students are paying a greater share of the cost of their education while state legislatures are providing less, according to Wileyeyey
“The cost to attend RSU is still much less than many larger universities in Oklahoma and far less than comparable institutions in surrounding states,” he said.
This fall, tuition at RSU will increase by 8.6 percent, from $70 to $76 per credit hour for Oklahoma residents. Rates will rise by the same percentage for out-of-state students, from $140 to $152 per credit hour. Tuition for nursing classes will experience a separate increase to meet additional equipment costs for the program, increasing by $21 per credit hour for state residents.
In addition, the student activity fee will be raised by $4 per credit hour, from $5.45 to $9.45, to enhance extracurricular, cultural and recreational activities at all three RSU campuses.
The fee for online courses, which are more expensive for the institution to deliver, will be raised by $15 per credit hour, from $40 to $55. The increases were presented to RSU students in the spring.
To help offset the new rates, RSU has increased its budget for scholarships and financial aid.