Tuition to rise at most state colleges

The cost of college will go up an average $224 next academic year for full-time undergraduate students at Oklahoma’s public institutions.

Tuition and mandatory fees for each college and university were approved Thursday by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

The increases average 4 percent and range from zero to $480. One year ago, the increases averaged $284, or 5.3 percent.

Southeastern Oklahoma State University is one of four institutions not raising tuition and mandatory fees for 201819.

“We’re trying to hold the cost down. We serve probably the poorest part of the state,” President Sean Burrage said. “Each year we have more and more students who aren’t reenrolling because of financial holds on their accounts.”

Burrage said Southeastern can afford to hold costs flat because of a significant increase in online graduate enrollment.

Tuition and mandatory fees also will stay flat at the University of Oklahoma, Eastern Oklahoma State College and Murray State College.

“That’s a very, very difficult thing to do,” OU incoming President Jim Gallogly said. “It’s going to be difficult to balance our budget.”

Gallogly said he is concerned about keeping OU affordable for students. The cost of tuition and mandatory fees for 2018-19 will be the highest in the state at $9,062.50.

“We’re just trying to hold it here,” Eastern President Stephen Smith said. “This is the first time since 2009 we’ve been able to do that.”

Murray State President Joy McDaniel said she is able to keep students’ costs at the 2017-18 level because the college received nearly $500,000 more for concurrent enrollment next academic year.

The state is providing an additional $7.5 million to pay for concurrent enrollment tuition waivers for high school seniors statewide. Seniors can take six hours of college credit per semester tuition-free, and colleges must cover the costs not funded by the state.

Tulsa Community College, which has the most concurrently enrolled students in Oklahoma, invested $1.3 million in the program last year, President Leigh Goodson said. The additional state funding will cut that in half, she said.

Tuition and mandatory fees for full-time students at TCC will increase $159.90 for 2018-19.

The largest cost increase — $480 for the academic year — will be paid by students at both the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Those were the only two institutions that held costs flat in 2017-18.

The increase for full-time students at the University of Central Oklahoma will be about $388.50 for the year. UCO President Don Betz said a significant portion of that will cover tuition waivers for students, which have been reduced in recent years because of cuts in state funding.

“Our students need that help,” Betz said. “Virtually every student that I know — even our scholarship students — have at least one job, most have two jobs.”

The regents also approved the fiscal year 2019 educational and general operating budgets of the institutions totaling $2,397.6 billion, an increase of 2 percent or $46.9 million from FY18.

Since FY16, the dollars spent on employee pay and benefits is down 1.6 percent or $24 million, and the amount spent on scholarships is up 22 percent or $49 million, said Amanda Paliotta, vice chancellor for budget and finance.

Regents honored Dr. Ronald White, of Oklahoma City, for his leadership during the past fiscal year and elected Regent Jay Helm, of Tulsa, to serve as board chairman for 2018-19.