On trend, UCA tuition, fees to go up

CONWAY -- The cost of a college degree is getting more expensive in Arkansas.

The University of Central Arkansas' board of trustees on Friday joined the state's other four-year public universities in approving a tuition increase for the next academic year.

There was no discussion among trustees immediately before the unanimous vote.

Undergraduate students taking 30 hours in two semesters will face a 3.86 percent increase in tuition and mandatory fees with the total rate rising from $7,595 to $7,889.

The increase translates to a $9.78 increase per credit hour for undergraduate students. Graduate students will face a tuition and mandatory fee increase of 3.71 percent, or $11.11 per credit hour, said Diane Newton, vice president for finance and administration.

Newton did not have the dollar figures available for a typical graduate student's total academic hours per semester or annually.

With the increase, UCA will remain third-highest in the state on tuition and fees, behind the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville ($8,209) and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock ($7,959).

"I think we're still in a very competitive marketplace," Newton told trustees.

"Operating expenses don't stay flat, and if we're not getting additional revenue from the state," then the only other place to get it is from the students, Newton said in an interview later.

Still, she said, "I'm really proud of the state of Arkansas in that we have not had declining revenues."

The tuition increase is expected to generate about $1.6 million in additional revenue for the school's operating budget, Newton said. That's assuming the university has the same enrollment next term as this year.

UCA President Tom Courtway said after the meeting, however, that he is hopeful the university will see another enrollment increase this fall.

UCA's enrollment increased last fall for the first time since the fall of 2008, when UCA was embroiled in the first of a series of scandals and financial problems. Total enrollment last fall was 11,534 students, compared with 11,107 in the fall of 2012.

Courtway said he's confident the increase in cost won't interfere with the university's efforts to boost enrollment.

"We're right in line" with other universities, he said.

The university hopes to use some of its fiscal-2015 budget of $178.8 million to pay for 2 percent cost-of-living-adjustment raises for all faculty and staff members, Newton said. Classified staff members, however, must await word from the governor's office that it's OK to spend those funds, she said. The school also is setting aside $250,000 for equity and merit pay raises for faculty members.

Mandatory-fee increases include a student activities board fee, which was enacted to provide funding for speakers, entertainers and social activities. This student-initiated fee is to increase by 53 cents per credit hour, taking the total fee to $1.59 per credit hour.

Students also will be paying a previously approved $3.50 increase in their facilities fee, making it $12.50 per credit hour during the coming term. Revenue from that is expected to help with renovation and expansion of the Lewis Science Center.

Shane Broadway, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, said Friday that "to the General Assembly's credit, we've not faced the drastic cuts like other states."

But he said, "Until you have sustainable increases in state funding ... I think you're going to continue to see increases in tuition. All I ask is that they be measured and modest."

Broadway said he believes the institutions and their trustees have tried in recent years "to keep it [tuition] as low as possible" despite rising expenses.

In other action Friday, the UCA board agreed to raise Courtway's salary from $216,300 to $240,000 and to extend his contract by one year through June 30, 2015.

Courtway was named the university's 10th president in December 2011. He also has twice served as interim president.

A Section on 05/31/2014

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