Guaranteed tuition was the hot topic at Student Senate’s Wednesday meeting.
The new tuition model, set to go into effect Fall 2015, was explained to senate by Craig Cornell, chair of the Tuition Guarantee Implementation Team and Vice Provost for Enrollment Management.
Under the model tuition and general fee, non-resident surcharge, most course fees, the graduation application fee and the orientation fee, will remain the same for a student’s 12 consecutive terms or 120 hours at OU — though exceptions can be made.
The Board of Trustees must determine costs for the upcoming year by June 30. Predictability, for both the university and students, is the main advantage of the new tuition program, Cornell said.
“We lock (prices) in for four years. That cost is not going to change for them,” Cornell said. “That price will not change for any student while they are here.”
The board will look at inflation rates and comparable state tuition prices to guide its decision in setting each incoming class’ costs, Cornell said.
Graduate students, independent or distance learning program participants, regional campuses, study abroad programs, and eLearners will be excluded from the set prices.
“I’m not saying we won’t get to that point eventually … there’s just too many variables for those particular populations,” Cornell said. “We want to start with our core, which is obviously our undergraduate population.”
Some meeting attendees, including Darius Jenkins, a former senate member and proxy for Eliza Straughter, Minority Affairs Commissioner, expressed apprehensions about being “rushed” out of OU due to the model’s fixed four-year graduation plan for most academic programs.
“Money isn’t everything that is involved with a being student, and as a transfer minority student, money is one aspect, but it is also about me being able to involved in the institution,” Jenkins said.
Some in the administration also shared of those concerns.
“To me, that speaks to the need to offer support services for students to be successful in the (set) time frame,” said Ryan Lombardi, Vice President for Student Affairs and senate’s advisor.
Austin LaForest, who sits on the communication subcommittee for the implementation team, hopes this presentation will spark conversations among students.
“I want all the senators to go talk to your constituents. I want you to ask them about guaranteed tuition and if they don’t know about guaranteed tuition, I want you to educate them,” said LaForest, senate treasurer.
The Senate Appropriations Commission’s current budget stands at $44,830.52 while Senate’s budget is at $15,620.29.
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