Tuition increase gets OK at ASU

4% a must-have, system chief says

JONESBORO -- Trustees for the Arkansas State University System approved raising tuition at all its institutions by 4 percent Friday, after system President Charles Welch's impassioned speech urging them to do so.

"Each year, it seems like we're second-guessed and even criticized," Welch said about asking for tuition and fees. "We bring [to the board] the proposals sheepishly ... almost apologetically.

"Well, this year, we have to be vocal."

The five-member board unanimously approved the tuition increases, which will go into effect in the 2015 fall semester.

In-state undergraduates at ASU-Jonesboro, who currently pay $192 per credit hour, will now pay $200 per credit hour. A student taking 15 hours in a semester will see his tuition increase from $2,880 to $3,000.

Out-of-state undergraduates at ASU-Jonesboro will see an increase from $384 to $400 per credit hour. An out-of-state student will pay $6,000 for a 15-hour semester next fall, up from $5,760.

ASU's campuses at Beebe and Mountain Home will see a $3 per credit hour increase for in-state undergraduate students and a $5 per credit hour increase for out-of-state undergraduates. ASU-Newport will raise its credit hours by $1 for in-state undergraduates and $2 for out-of-state undergraduates.

Trustees also favored raising mandatory athletic fees for students from $17 to $19 per credit hour and facilities fees from $3 to $4 per credit hour.

Last year, ASU raised its tuition and mandatory fees by 2.8 percent.

Welch said the increases were necessary because of rising operational expenses and cuts in state funding, not because of declining enrollment figures.

Last year, Welch said increases in utilities and health care costs, along with "'fairly flat state funding" forced the increase. In 2010, former ASU System President Les Wyatt also noted cuts in state appropriations for his tuition and fee increase request.

"It concerns me," said ASU trustee Howard Slinkard of Rogers. "There's an ominous, dark cloud ahead for funding."

He said increases in state funding for the state's public schools, highway projects and the correctional system leave little revenue for universities.

"It doesn't bode well for higher education," he said. "We may be looking at double-digit [tuition] increases next year just to stay even."

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in March that his budget "reflected my priorities, including increased funding for K-12 education, corrections and Medicaid, and stable funding for higher education."

The ASU System has 27,000 students enrolled in its four campuses. ASU-Jonesboro, the second-largest university in the state, had 13,153 students enrolled for the fall semester -- a slight increase from its 13,144 students enrolled during the fall semester in 2014, but a drop from the 13,900-student count it reported in 2011.

Last year, ASU cut its budget by $1.2 million to make up for losses resulting from the drop in student enrollment.

Welch said 49 percent of the university's $243.7 million budget comes from tuition and fees and 47 percent comes from general revenue from the state.

"Over the last five years, the amount of money put into higher education by the state is zero-point-zero percent," Welch said. "Higher education needs adequate funding, just like K-12 schools. The state has determined it takes a 2.5 percent increase in funds every year for K-12 to maintain an adequate education.

"Why shouldn't it be the same for higher education? If we're not getting [revenue] from one pot, we have to get it from the other."

Welch chided those who say the university raises its tuition yearly to "pay for buildings." He said only 3 percent of the university's budget goes to debt service. Another 3 percent is spent on utilities.

"The cost is not in our buildings," he said. "It's in our people.

"This is what we have to do to say that our students have an adequate education. We ought to feel good about what we are doing.

"Let's be clear," Welch said while urging the ASU trustees to approve the increase Friday. "We've worked every way we can to keep costs as low as we can. Over the last five years, our total budget has increased by 10.26 percent -- that's just 2 percent annually. ASU's budget this year is lower than last year's by one-tenth of one percent.

"Our spending is not out of control."

Other universities across the state are also grappling with tuition costs and decreased funding.

Southern Arkansas University trustees approved an across-the-board 3.13 percent tuition increase for its Magnolia campus Thursday and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville still has to decide whether to raise its tuition.

The University of Central Arkansas, however, is not seeking a tuition increase for the first time in 20 years. Last year, UCA trustees raised tuition by 3.86 percent.

State Desk on 05/09/2015

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