REGENTS OK SCALED-BACK TUITION HIKE

The Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents Monday approved a scaled-back tuition hike for the 1995-96 academic year.

The action came after regents Don Dickerson of Cape Girardeau and Pat Washington of St. Louis expressed concern that ever-increasing hikes in student fees are pricing some students out of a college education.

Southeast administrators had proposed a $4-a-credit-hour hike in tuition for in-state students and an $8-a-credit-hour increase for out-of-state students. But the regents balked at the idea, deciding instead on a $3-a-credit-hour hike for in-state students and a $6-per-credit-hour increase for out-of-state students.

Dickerson even suggested that a $2-a-credit-hour increase might be a better course of action. But in the end, all five regents voted for the $3 and $6 increases. Board President Don Harrison was absent.

The regents also approved hikes in room and board charges and a $10 increase in monthly rental charges at two school-owned apartment buildings. In conjunction with the room and board charges, Southeast will cease using Dearmont as a residence hall.

The hike in room and board charges was approved on a 4-1 vote, with Washington casting the dissenting vote.

Washington said she didn't want to saddle students with hikes in both tuition and room and board charges.

Students will pay between $3,500 and $5,200 to live on campus next year.

Tuition and general student fees will cost in-state undergraduates $2,760 a year for 30 credit hours, while resident graduate students will pay $2,940. For out-of-state students, the cost will range from $4,980 a year for undergraduates to $5,310 for graduate students.

Washington said increased room and board charges could drive more students to live off campus.

Student Regent Jennifer Bertrand said many students prefer to live off campus after their freshman year because apartments offer more privacy and cost less. As the student regent, Bertrand doesn't get to vote on board matters.

The regents spent much of the afternoon discussing the proposed tuition hike.

"I don't want us to price ourselves out of the market," Dickerson said. "We may be triggering a rather vicious cycle."

Dickerson said the school needs to increase its enrollment. Ever-rising fees could cause an even greater enrollment decline, he said.

Washington worried that parents in Southeast Missouri won't be able to afford to send their children to the only four-year college in the area.

The Bootheel has traditionally been one of the poorest regions of the state.

She wondered if a college education will only be available to the wealthy.

Dickerson said, "I think we should be among the lowest, and we're damn near the highest."

Only Northeast Missouri State University and Missouri University's four campuses will have higher in-state tuition per credit hour than Southeast this fall.

Dickerson said school officials need to think of the university as a business. "If gross sales are dropping, the question is, is it wise to raise your prices?"

Both Dickerson and Washington said schools never lower their tuition charges, only raise them.

Southeast President Kala Stroup said she doesn't believe the fee hikes will pose a major deterrent to attracting students.

She said the university has a sizable scholarship program. Federal aid programs also help finance students' college education.

Stroup said the adoption of stricter admissions requirements and a reduced population of prospective students in the region are bigger factors in declining enrollment than tuition costs.