Just 30 years ago, tuition, fees and room and board for full-time undergraduate students in public four-year universities averaged $6,381 per year.
If Ohio University’s Board of Trustees votes Friday to increase tuition 1.6 percent, that total will be $25,374 per year.
Along with tuition, trustees will also vote on a 5 percent increase to the instructional fee and non-resident surcharge at the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine — totaling $14,538 and $6,505 per semester respectively for the 2013-14 school year.
“We compared ourselves to the University of Cincinnati, Wright State, the University of Toledo and OSU, and we are lowest in the state as far as total tuition,” said John Day, associate provost for Academic Budget and Planning, in regard to the possible OU-HCOM increase.
OU Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit and Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding will present to the board about guaranteed tuition and the university budget, said Ann Fidler, chief of staff for the provost and chief financial officer. However, trustees will not vote on guaranteed tuition this year, she said.
Additional resolutions up for vote include a 3.5 percent increase in Residential Housing costs and a 0.5 percent increase for meal plans.
Trustees will vote on whether or not to continue the Ohio Service Alignment Initiative, which authorizes OU President Roderick McDavis to manage the estimated project budget of $28,100,000 over a six-year period.
“OSAI focuses on creating a customer-driven administrative function in Facilities, Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology,” the meeting’s agenda states.
Just as they have at past meetings, the board will further discuss the Six-Year Capital Plan.
“The updated capital plan still requires $485 million of debt,” Golding said in the agenda. “I look forward to discussing the changes made and what they mean to the university’s overall capital plan.”
Other resolutions include reinstating the Ridges Advisory Committee and renaming the Academic and Research Center student organization meeting room, Room 112, to the C. David Snyder Student Collaboration Room.
bc822010@ohiou.edu
