UM Curators approve tuition increase at Thursday meeting

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri System Board of Curators voted to raise tuition by 2.3% across all system universities.

UM System President Mun Choi said the increases won't fill the gaps in revenue that the universities have experienced from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The (increase in tuition) will help us maintain our commitment to teaching excellence," Choi said.

UM will also explore possible changes to the tuition model after 2020. An email from UM said possible the changes could make billing simpler and more predictable.

Curator David Steelman said at the meeting MU was on track to achieve all financial performances prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Steelman noted the university system could still be on track for the end of the year driven by MU Health Care.

“We’ve not experienced the type of financial crisis in the modern history of the university,” Choi said. “Unfortunately, we continue to have to make hard decisions that have impacted our employees at every level of the university."

Choi said Thursday's changes will help in the short term but structural changes will need to be made for the future.

University leaders confirmed this week the curators were working on raising tuition. MU spokesman Christian Basi said Tuesday the increased tuition would generate about $7 million dollars for the University of Missouri.