UM Board of Curators approves tuition increase, ‘Keeping tuition low is a key factor’
The University of Missouri Board of Curators approved a tuition increase for the 2018-19 academic year on Monday, according to an official release.
The release goes on to say while the board approved a 2.1 percent increase, the university will only charge students a one percent increase following an agreement with state legislators who did not cut the university’s budget.
The campuses will only charge one percent more in exchange for protecting the university’s state appropriation, according to an agreement with the state.
Read what officials had to say about the tuition increase:
“We are very aware of the financial burden that students and their families face, and our chancellors and their administrative teams have been working exceptionally hard to keep our tuition low over the past several years,” said David Steelman, chair of the Board of Curators. “We’re also extremely appreciative of efforts of our legislators. They worked diligently and did not cut our revenue despite a variety of budget pressures facing the state. Through the combination of our campus leaders and the legislators, we are able to keep tuition at four of the state’s premier universities very low.”
“Together with the state legislators and our campus leaders, we are keeping higher education in Missouri very affordable,” UM System President Mun Choi said. “Even with this increase, our campuses have reduced other costs so that the overall cost to students remains low. Through cost-saving measures, such as our textbook affordability initiative and increases in need and merit-based scholarships, many students will see their total cost of attendance decline.”
“The University of Missouri has had one of the lowest rates of tuition increase in the U.S. during the past decade,” said Ryan Rapp, UM vice president for finance. “Every dollar we save, we put back toward our educational mission. Keeping tuition low is a key factor to achieving our mission of providing a high-quality, affordable education.”
