A day after students stood in the cold requesting a tuition freeze, Ohio University’s top administrators provided an update on its current approach.
President Roderick McDavis, Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit and Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding said that they are pursuing a guaranteed tuition rate with student affordability in mind during a news conference on Friday.
The administration has spent eight months researching the models from schools that have switched to a guaranteed tuition model, such as University of Dayton and University of Kansas.
OU’s proposed model has already received praise from the Ohio Board of Regents, McDavis said, adding that a more detailed plan will be presented at the April Board of Trustees meeting.
Currently, the university is debating whether a guaranteed tuition rate should include room and board rates within the fixed rate.
“We are trying to recognize that managing costs is a significant part of what students expect when they come here, while at the same time expecting the quality that Ohio University has come to be known for,” Golding said.
Also in the works is the possibility of extending a guaranteed tuition rate to certain programs on OU’s regional campuses, but that would depend upon the nature of the student involved, Benoit said.
Despite the typical model for a guaranteed tuition rate, the administration is hoping to make the guaranteed tuition rate flexible, with the ability to lower tuition rates if OU receives relief from the legislature, governor or Board of Regents, Golding said.
“The tuition guarantee program by itself would not create by definition a significantly greater risk that what we receive today,” Golding said.
In addition, Benoit is working on a reevaluation of scholarship programs in order to best match scholarships to candidates. Part of this task includes campaigning for more scholarship donations.
“We would initiate a fundraising program to try to match every dollar of university money with $2 of donor money,” McDavis said.
If approved by state legislation, the guaranteed tuition model could go into effect by fall 2014 or 2015 at the earliest.
In the mean time, administration will continue to present the model to faculty and student organizations, as well as other universities, to receive feedback.
“Once we have a more specific proposal, obviously we will share that with student groups, with faculty groups, with staff,” McDavis said.
dk123111@ohiou.edu
