If Ohio University were to increase tuition next year at the same rate as past years, students would pay $358 more. However, a proposal made by Ohio Gov. John Kasich Monday means a potential increase won’t exceed $204.
As part of his Jobs Budget 2.0, unveiled Monday in Columbus, Kasich cut the cap on yearly tuition increases at public universities from 3.5 percent to 2 percent.
“College affordability is important,” said Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols.
OU’s tuition, at $10,216 per year, is currently broken into two parts: the Instructional Fee and the General Fee. The Instructional Fee for 2013 is $4,480 per semester, while the General Fee is $628 per semester, according to the Office of the Bursar website.
“We anticipate there will be additional conversations about the governor’s tuition and fee proposal,” OU President Roderick McDavis said. “However, we remain focused on our efforts to explore new tuition plan options to ensure affordability and minimize student indebtedness upon graduation. We look forward to engaging in those discussions.”
A 2 percent tuition increase would generate $2.7 million for OU, while a 3.5 percent increase would generate $4.7 million, said Chad Mitchell, OU’s budget director.
If tuition were increased 2 percent next year, students would pay $10,420.32 next year.
“The rationale for changing (the cap) was to keep it closer to the rate of inflation,” said Jeff Robinson, acting director of communications at the Ohio Board of Regents. “(This is) part of the overall mission to get students through school.”
The 3.5 percent tuition cap has stood for the past several years, Robinson said.
He added it would be up to each university to find savings in their budgets to make up for the loss in tuition increase.
“The governor’s continued support of higher education will assist us in preserving quality and improving affordability, McDavis said.”
At least one student group was cautiously optimistic about the change.
“I think that’s really good news, but by itself; I think that’s going to do very little to alleviate the root of the problem,” said Ellie Hamrick, a representative of the OU Student Union. “It’s important to keep public education public, because if we … look at where we want to prioritize our resources, education should be the obvious answer.”
dd195710@ohiou.edu
