University's board of regents votes to increase tuition

The board of regents voted Wednesday to increase tuition at Southeast Missouri State University for the coming school year to help pay added expenses.

The board, in one of its shortest meetings of the year, raised tuition by $9 a credit hour for in-state students and $18 a credit hour for out-of-state students.

Board president John Tlapek of Cape Girardeau said the tuition increase is necessary to pay the bills, including the university's share of the state retirement program.

The increased tuition, effective with the start of the fall semester, will generate an estimated $1.6 million in added revenue for the coming fiscal year, including $750,000 earmarked for increased expenses at Southeast for state retirement benefits.

Almost half of the $9 a credit hour increase is for the state retirement program, university president Dr. Ken Dobbins told the board.

The increased tuition also will help pay for raises of about 2 percent for faculty and staff.

The board met for just over an hour at the University Center. No students attended the meeting and board members had little to say.

School officials said they want to keep tuition increases to a minimum. "It's imperative to have access to higher education at affordable rates," said Dr. Ivy Locke, vice president of business and finance.

She said the increased tuition can't be avoided, particularly since state funding for the university hasn't increased. The university is scheduled to receive $42.5 million from the state in the new fiscal year that starts July 1. That's the same level as the current fiscal year, she said.

But even with the fee increases, Southeast's tuition and general fees this fall will be lower than those at most other public, four-year colleges in the state.

An in-state undergraduate taking 12 credit hours of classes would pay $2,058 in tuition this fall semester. Among eight public, four-year colleges in the state, only Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., would have a lower tuition -- amounting to nearly $1,970, Southeast officials said.

The new per-credit-hour tuition rates at Southeast will range from $158.80 for in-state undergraduates to $339.10 for out-of-state graduate students.

Southeast students will pay an estimated $38.8 million in tuition and other fees for the coming school year, officials said. That doesn't include room and board charges.

In addition to the $1.6 million in added funding for the Cape Girardeau campus, Southeast officials said the tuition increases should generate an estimated $247,674 in added revenue at the three Bootheel education centers combined.

In all, Southeast expects to generate about half a million dollars in revenue from fees charged students taking classes at the education centers in Sikeston, Kennett and Malden.

Dobbins said after the meeting that the expected increase in revenue still wouldn't balance out expenses. The university expects to have a net loss of about $500,000 in its operations of the centers in the coming fiscal year, he said.

The university in recent months has been in a heated dispute with Three Rivers Community College over the operation of the centers.

In addition to the tuition increase, the regents approved an operating budget of more than $119 million. The university plans to spend $93.7 million on basic services and another $25.6 million on auxiliary operations including campus housing and the Show Me Center.

Auxiliary services are designed to be self--sufficient, paid for with user fees.

More than half of the budget for basic services, or $59.5 million, is earmarked for salaries and benefits.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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