After Ohio University’s Board of Trustees approved a 3.5-percent tuition increase Friday, only two public universities in the state will have higher tuition and fees next year.
Miami University remains the most expensive in the state with a current annual rate of $12,625. The University of Cincinnati follows with a cost of $10,784 in tuition and fees for next year.
If Bowling Green State University increases its tuition by 3.5 percent next year, OU’s tuition would be the fourth-highest among public universities in the state. A 3.5-percent increase at Bowling Green would put its yearly tuition and fee rate at $10,396.
So far, both Kent State University and Cincinnati have decided to raise tuition by 3.5 percent for the upcoming academic year, which is the maximum amount allowed by Ohio law. Members of OU’s Board of Trustees said during a meeting Friday that they expect other public universities to follow suit.
“We’re pretty confident that we’re in a very competitive position compared to other Ohio state universities and certainly private institutions,” said C. Robert Kidder, the outgoing chairman of OU’s Board of Trustees who is also chairman of the Chrysler Group.
Next year, the cost of being an Ohio University undergraduate will rise to about $10,215 per year, up from the current rate of $9,870.
About 15 students sat in on the Board of Trustees meeting Friday, holding signs that read, “With the amount of debt I will have it will not be financially responsible of me to have children” and “I make $98.18 a week, look me in the face and tell me that I can afford $10,215 for tuition.” The students stood silently holding the posters as trustees discussed the decision to raise tuition.
The protestors filed out of the meeting in frustration after board members unanimously passed the tuition hike, leaving behind the signs that silently denounced the decision. Students organized three tuition protests before Friday’s board meeting and also reached out to some trustees to urge them to vote against the increase.
This is the fourth time OU has raised tuition since Winter Quarter 2010.
“We see you,” said trustee Sandra Anderson. We see the stories you bring on those posters.”
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