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OU Board of Trustees Passes Tuition, Fee Increase for Fall 2019
By: Susan Tebben
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ATHENS (WOUB) — Students in the next freshman class will see higher tuition and fees after the Ohio University Board of Trustees approved the rate hike at today’s meeting.
The board approved a 3.5-percent increase for the incoming cohort of the Ohio Guarantee for Athens and regional campus students, and a 2 percent increase for non-guarantee students.
The board cited multiple years of stagnant tuition rates, which they said necessitated the increase.
The increases are based on assumptions about the State Share of Instruction, meaning the funding support the state of Ohio will provide. Deb Shaffer, Vice President for Finance and Administration explained the unpredictability of those funds in a committee meeting with members of the board Thursday.
“We don’t know when the budget will come out,” Shaffer said. “But if state support would decrease, we don’t have any options –if they allow us to increase tuition– but to have that conversation.”
OU President Duane Nellis said he hopes the increase will show the state the efforts being made to meet growing demands on their funding.
“We’ve really held the line the last four years, as far as tuition increases, and so we’re hopeful that there will be an understanding of the importance of increasing the investment,” Nellis said.
Trustees also approved an increase student legal services and elective courses fees.