Update: The proposal was approved.
When the UA board of trustees meets in Pine Bluff this Friday, they’ll consider tuition and fee increases for some University of Arkansas System institutions including the UA campus in Fayetteville.
According to a news release issued Monday morning, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville would see a $13.53 estimated tuition/mandatory fee increase per credit hour. The 6 percent increase is not the highest swell proposed, but at $239.11 per credit hour, the Fayetteville campus would still be the costliest in the system.
With no expectations of new state funding, system officials are asking students to help pay for items such as facility maintenance, technology needs, rising benefit costs, new faculty members and other costs associated with increasing student enrollments.
“We must continue to keep tuition as reasonable as possible while maintaining quality at our institutions,” said Dr. B. Alan Sugg, president of the UA System in the release. “It’s never easy to raise tuition, but I believe these proposed increases are necessary in an environment of rising costs, flat state appropriations and significantly increasing enrollment.”
According to the release, four-year universities in the UA System received an average of $7,019 per student in state appropriations in 2008-09 compared to $6,269 in 2010-11, a decrease of 11 percent. These trends are expected to continue in 2011-12.
Facilities fees are also set to see an increase. Under the proposal, fees at the Fayetteville campus would increase from $6 per credit hour to $8 per credit hour.
UA colleges and universities plan to hold off on providing pay increases for faculty and staff. Campus officials will monitor state revenue collections to determine whether raises or one-time bonuses can be provided later in the year.
Download the full UA system release
Proposed tuition/mandatory fees increase
Per credit hour
| School | Fall 2010 | Fall 2011 | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| UA Fort Smith | $163.93 | $175.57 | 7.10% |
| UA Monticello | $166.33 | $176.33 | 6.01% |
| UA Fayetteville | $225.58 | $239.11 | 6.00% |
| UA Little Rock | $221.41 | $234.68 | 5.99% |
| UA Pine Bluff | $167.75 | $177.65 | 5.90% |
Proposed facilities fees increase
Per credit hour, unless otherwise noted
| School | Fall 2010 | Fall 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| UA Fort Smith | $0 | $20/semester |
| UA Little Rock | $3 | $5 |
| UA Fayetteville | $6 | $8 |
| UA Monticello | $10 | $11 |
| UA Pine Bluff | $13.25 | $14 |
Source: UA System
Greaaaat…I’m never getting to college.
HAHAH
so….. more students = increased tuition? what? we must be in arkansas.
not only have more students hurt the universities admission standards (very important in future rankings … when/if they graduate), but now it means the university gets to charge more per student. i bet they are still getting charged to use a decrepit HPER facility and transit system (actually, I have used this for free occasionally, so thanks).
For many students and careers, college is essential. But way too many students are stuck in the mindset that college is necessary or important to their lives. The 5 year completion rate for incoming freshmen at the U of A and many schools is low, indicating that a lot of students attended who probably should not have in the first place. And they are left with a lot of money spent and/or student loan debt plus years of foregone productivity which would compound in their favor at retirement. That is frankly unfair to them.
Increasingly college is less and less attractive in a realistic cost/benefit analysis. The link below is from an insightful article in NY Magazine on this topic, features an impressive Hendrix student for whom college is more of a hurdle than a benefit.
Here’s a good quote from the article on tuition inflation. There is no way that the value of a degree has appreciated as quickly as its cost.
{To Altucher, higher education is nothing less than an institutionalized scam—college graduates hire only college graduates, creating a closed system that permits schools to charge exorbitant prices and forces students to take on crippling debt. “The cost of college in the past 30 years has gone up tenfold. Health care has only gone up sixfold, and inflation has only gone up threefold. Not only is it a scam, but the college presidents know it. That’s why they keep raising tuition.”}
http://nymag.com/news/features/college-education-2011-5/
Again, I think college is essential for certain students and careers. Please give the article consideration and think about the people in your life for whom college was not/will not be a blessing.