REGENTS HIKE TUITION WHILE HOLDING LINE ON ROOM CHARGES, OTHER FEES

The Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents hiked tuition Thursday and approved other fee changes while holding the line on room charges for the 1995 fiscal year.

Tuition will be increased by $2 per credit hour for Missouri resident students and $4 per credit hour for non-residents students.

Under the new rates, incidental fees will be $85 per credit hour for resident undergraduates and $91 for resident graduate students. Non-resident undergraduates will pay $156 per credit hour while non-resident graduate students will pay $167 per credit hour.

The fees were approved on unanimous votes.

SueAnn Strom, vice president of student affairs at Southeast, said the administration's recommendation to hold the line on most room charges followed discussions with students.

"We think we have to begin to rebuild the trust with our students," Strom told the regents. "What we need to do is regain their confidence."

Holding the line on room charges and making improvements in the upkeep of the campus residence halls should help, she said.

In approving room charges for the 1994-95 academic year, the board also okayed a $6.8 million budget for residence hall operations.

Room and board charges are expected to comprise the bulk of the income, about $6.3 million. The board charges, however, have not been finalized.

Under the approved room rate plan, residence hall fees for the renovated Towers West will be $3,500 for single rooms, $2,900 for large double rooms, $2,700 for suite double rooms and $2,600 for triple rooms.

The yearlong renovation of Towers West is expected to be completed by late May, after which work will commence on renovating Towers North.

The room charges for Myers Hall will be increased 4.5 percent in what Strom called a "modest increase" of $100 for the whole fiscal year. In Myers Hall the annual room rate will climb to $2,320.

Strom said the increase is justified because the charges were not increased when the residence hall was renovated in 1987.

But there will be no rate increase for Cheney, Towers South and East, Greek housing and Dearmont residence halls.

The approved budget also includes closing two wings of Dearmont, thus taking off line 202 beds in addition to the renovation-prompted closing of Towers North.

Strom said that shutting down two wings of Dearmont will result in some cuts in staff and other operational costs that will help balance the budget.

"There isn't a lot of slack in this budget," she said.

Strom said 1,990 residence hall rooms will be available for students for the 1994-95 academic year. But she acknowledged that there are more rooms available than there is student demand.

The current fiscal year's budget was based on an average occupancy of 1,988 students in campus housing. But fewer students than that are actually living on campus, she said. "Obviously, the budget we proposed last year was off the mark."

This semester 1,589 students are living on campus, and for the academic year the average is 1,625 students.

Strom said the new budget is based on the latter figure, which anticipates an 84 percent occupancy rate.

The budget, however, projects a 100 percent occupancy rate for the renovated Towers West.

Strom said there's renewed student interest in campus housing, which she attributed to the renovation of Towers West.

She said the university will use a lottery system to determine which students get to stay in the renovated building.

The regents hiked rental rates for off-campus student housing effective with the fall semester.

The housing for non-traditional students is at 401 and 505 Washington. The two buildings feature one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Rental rates for two-bedroom apartments will increase by $15 a month, and monthly rates for one-bedroom units will climb by $10.

With the increases, the 19 apartments will now rent for between $230 and $310 a month, officials said. The apartment buildings are expected to generate annual rental revenue of just over $58,000.

The board authorized a new $4 per credit hour general fee, which replaces several other fees.

In other action, the regents approved a temporary funding plan for renovating the Parker Building, which clears the way for the work to proceed even though the anticipated state funding won't be available until July 1.

Under the plan, which still must be approved by the Southeast Missouri University Foundation board, the foundation would provide funding of up to $666,000 until the state money is made available.

The regents also signed off on a cooperative agreement with Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff that would allow students there to obtain four-year degrees.

Although no formal vote was taken, the regents discussed concerns raised by local veterans and others about the fact that Southeast students are no longer required to take a traditional American history course.

John Hinni, dean of the University Studies program, said students are exposed to aspects of American history in the many general education courses that are offered.

University President Kala Stroup said American history is "alive and well" at Southeast, a view that was echoed by the regents.