In-state students won’t pay a penny in higher tuition next year at any of the four University of Missouri System campuses.
The UM System Board of Curators voted Jan. 29 to hold MU undergraduate tuition flat for the 2014–15 academic year at an estimated $9,430. However, they did raise tuition for MU’s non-resident students by 3 percent to an estimated $23,507 and for graduate students by 1.5 percent, bringing Missouri residents to $6,549 and non-residents to about $15,341.
The curators have the authority to raise in-state tuition by as much as the rate of inflation. Gov. Jay Nixon, however, had asked the state’s public universities to freeze in-state tuition in exchange for an increase in state funding. Nixon has proposed a 5.2 percent funding increase for the UM System.
“Freezing tuition was a great signal to send to our leaders in Jefferson City,” UM President Tim Wolfe said during remarks to curators Jan. 31.
Increasing alternative revenue other than state support and student tuition was a frequent topic of discussion during the meeting, from further developing alumni and corporate donors to creating a $300–$350 annual student facility fee to tackle $200 million in strategic building renovations across the UM System, including $102 million at MU. Tom Richards, vice president for finance and treasurer for the System, said a student fee would be a last resort, a point Wolfe echoed.
“[But] the fact is, we’ve got buildings falling down around us, and we’ve got to step up to that,” Wolfe added.
The $102 million in MU projects included Lafferre Hall, McKee, Waters Hall, Mumford Hall and Stewart Hall.
— Erik Potter
