June 29, 2021
By News Director Jared Atha
During their first in-person meeting of the year, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education approved tuition and mandatory fee hikes Thursday morning for 12 of the state’s 25 public colleges and universities.
Fortunately, Southwestern Oklahoma State University was not one of them.
State Regent Chairwoman Ann Holloway said during the meeting that “The COVID-19 crisis significantly impacted public colleges and universities (in Oklahoma)” She went on to say that “This modest increase at some institutions in the state system will help them continue to focus on increasing college degree completion in key areas of workforce demand (such as engineering and nursing).”
The regents heard requests regarding tuition and fees from the presidents of Oklahoma’s public institutions on Wednesday. Twelve requested no increase in tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students.
The University of Oklahoma’s Norman campus is increasing tuition and mandatory fees by 2.75 percent for in-state undergraduates. Oklahoma State University’s Stillwater and Tulsa campuses will increase by 2.5 percent.
Generally speaking, Oklahoma has relatively low tuition costs, ranking 46th in the nation for the price of in-state tuition. During the 2021 legislative session, Oklahoma lawmakers increased appropriations for higher education by 5.5 percent, or $42.4 million. Lawmakers appropriated an additional $4.3 million to help regional and two-year higher education institutions with maintenance and operations.
The prior year, as the state budget shrank owing to the pandemic and crashing petroleum prices, the Oklahoma Legislature cut higher education appropriations by 4 percent, or $31.7 million. But that year, colleges and universities also received significant federal allocations through COVID-19 relief packages.
Along with OU and OSU, other notable institutions that plan to increase their tuition and mandatory fees include, East Central University in Ada with a 2% increase, Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell with a 1.7% increase, UCO in Edmond with a 2.7% increase, and Western Oklahoma State College in Altus will see a 1.6% increase.
Along with SWOSU, Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva chose not to increase their tuition or mandatory fees.
