Tuition going up 6.9 percent next year

Continuing the trend of increasing tuition, the State Board of Higher Education voted to raise in-state tuition at Oregon University System campuses Friday. The increase will see tuition rise at all of the system’s universities, with tuition rising 6.9 percent at Oregon State University.

The board voted in favor of the increase by a vote of 7-2, with the board’s two student members voting against the increase.

Southern Oregon University saw the largest increase with tuition rising 9.9 percent and Western Oregon University saw the smallest increase. The University of Oregon will remain the most expensive university with estimated full-time tuition rising to $8,010.

Oregon State University estimated cost of annual tuition will be $6,660, a $432 increase from the 2011-2012 academic year.

State funding for higher education has been decreasing in recent years, with the state legislature voting to decrease the budget by 16 percent for the 2011-2013 biennium. This decreased funding from the state combined with increased costs for universities were stated as reasons for needing to increase tuition.

Earlier this year, the Associated Students of Oregon State University voted to lower incidental fees for students by 2.8 percent, with students paying $447.57 per term, down from $460.47. Combing the costs of tuition and fees, students at OSU will see a combined cost increase of 5.1 percent.

Tuition has been increasing significantly in recent years as state funding has dropped off and the cost of higher education nationwide has gone up as well. In 2005-2006, the cost of tuition and fees for a resident student taking 15 credits per term at OSU was $5,442. It will be $8,138 in the 2012-2013 school year, a 49.5 percent increase since 2005.

Student debt now totals $904 billion according to numbers recently released by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. This is not only larger than credit card debt, but is also the only form of household debt that went up over the last year.  

Staff
news@dailybarometer.com
On Twitter: @dailybarometer