The Greening of Orange
Will OSU Regents raise tuition? You betcha!
OSU Regents meet Friday in Tulsa to determine — among other things –tuition and fees for the coming year.
They will go up. They always do.
Even last year, a banner year for higher ed funding, saw the state’s public universities and colleges raising tuition by an average 5.8 percent.
This year was hardly banner. State Regents got far less than they asked for, and fear that campuses won’t have enough money to cover mandatory cost increases like health insurance premiums and utilities, let alone give any pay raises.
State Regents also haven’t decided whether to honor legislative earmarks to pay for capital projects at some campuses, meaning OSU could lose up to $2 million it wanted for ag research and outreach.
Yet in the midst of this uncertainty, OSU leaders are asked to define tuition and fee rates for fall. Those rates then must be approved by State Regents, who last year kept all increases under 10 percent.
Who knows how all this will work out. Parents of OSU students really have no idea what they’ll be paying in two months. Right now tuition and fees average $4,996 a year at OSU. A 10 percent increase would add another $500 to the bill.
Would that be a big deal to you? And what other options do you think universities have? Let me know at ssimpson@oklahoman.com
Susan Simpson
Education Writer
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