OU regents choose to increase tuition 3%, even after OSU decided against a hike
ARDMORE ― University of Oklahoma regents on Friday approved a 3% increase in tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students during the 2024-25 academic year. The hike came a week after the state's other large research university opted against such an increase.
Undergraduate students from Oklahoma who attend OU will now pay $174 per credit hour, up $5 per hour, along with at least $240.80 per semester in mandatory fees. During the previous five years, tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students at OU had risen by 5.8%. OU’s tuition rates have risen each of the last four years.
The tuition increases come despite the Oklahoma Legislature increasing funding for higher education the past two years. This year, the Legislature chose to fill an OU request for $240 million toward new engineering and science facilities on the campus after a last-minute plea by OU President Joseph Harroz to the Senate Education Committee.
By contrast, Oklahoma State University announced last week it would forego a tuition-and-fees hike for a third straight year. The most recent tuition increase at OSU was 2.5% in 2021. Before that increase, tuition had been flat for three years following an increase in 2017.
OSU said an in-state, undergraduate student for the 2024-25 academic year will spend $13,920 on tuition and mandatory fees. The Oklahoman asked OU what the same student would spend there and didn’t receive a firm answer, with university officials saying they “are in the process of developing average costs for the 2024-2025 academic year.”
More: Oklahoma State University will freeze tuition again for the third year in a row
In addition to approving higher tuition rates, OU regents also approved the university’s budget for the 2024-25 academic year while meeting at the Noble Research Institute’s conference center. They also approved a merit-based raise program for faculty and staff, which OU President Harroz said was necessary to help retain elite employees.
Harroz and regents who spoke Friday insisted that despite the tuition increases in recent years, the university has actually lowered costs for students by offering increases in tuition waivers, scholarships and grants. OU said during the past five years, in-state freshmen have seen a 28% reduction in net tuition and fees, which the university said saved them an average of $1,516 annually.
“We are remarkably proud that thanks to our unyielding focus on balancing excellence with affordability, coupled with our strong fiscal management, an OU degree is more affordable today than it was five years ago,” Harroz said in a statement.
Regent Anita Holloway said inflation has risen at a higher rate than OU’s tuition has during that time and board Chair Eric Stevenson said regents take a look at tuition rates each year.
“What I love about this board is how hard they dig to try to find expense reductions to make absolutely sure that there are no other ways,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson said to fund the strategic plan the university put in place four years ago, hire faculty and staff and “increase the things we need” like dormitories, while keeping tuition affordable, is a constant balance.
“We still think that we’re in the right place,” he said. “We are monitoring what’s our overall value proposition, and we feel like it’s really in a good place,” he said, noting OU’s increased enrollment in recent years.
Tuition rates also will rise 3% for both undergraduate and graduate students attending classes at the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. Eight of OU’s professional programs will see tuition increases ranging from 4% to 5% for in-state students.
Even as tuition rates rise for all three universities, their presidents each will receive a bonus from regents
Regents also awarded Harroz a one-time $150,000 bonus. Regent Anita Holloway said the bonus was “consistent with his current employment contract and in recognition of his achievement toward his performance goals” for fiscal year 2024.
The university refused to provide The Oklahoman a copy of Harroz’s current contract — which is a public document ― without the newspaper filing a formal open records request. OU often takes weeks, and sometimes months, to respond to such requests made under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
OU’s regents also oversee Cameron University in Lawton and Rogers State University in Claremore, and the meeting was the final one for Cameron President John McArthur and Rogers State President Larry Rice, each of whom are retiring this year. Regents gave both Rice and McArthur the title of “president emeritus” and awarded each of them a one-time payment of $22,596.60.
As regents conduct presidential searches, former Lt. Gov. Jari Askins will serve as Cameron’s interim president, while Mark Rasor, currently Rogers State’s vice president for administration and finance, will serve in that role for that university. Regents officially approved those appointments Friday. Askins already has said she is not a candidate for the long-term Cameron job.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU regents approve a tuition increase for 2024-25 academic year
