| News from Arkansas State University For Release: June 4, 2003 |
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| News from Arkansas State University For Release: June 4, 2003 |
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University Communications Office Jonesboro, Arkansas Staff: Tom Moore Virginia Adams 870-972-3056 fax 870-972-3069 Send mail: ASUnews@astate.edu Links: List of News/Announcements Upcoming Events About ASU ASU Home Page |
Board
to consider funding plans which include tuition, fee increases The Board of Trustees of Arkansas State University will be asked Friday to approve several measures to assure continued quality education for ASU students. The administration will recommend an average tuition increase of 5% at the Jonesboro campus. The increase at ASU-Beebe, ASU-Mountain Home, and ASU-Newport will average 7.1%. These increases are among the lowest percentages in the state and region, and compare to double-digit increases elsewhere. The changes are proposed to take effect in July at Mountain Home, and with the fall semester at Jonesboro, Beebe and Newport. Two changes are proposed for the ASU Technical Center. The hourly tuition will increase $10 per hour, to $50, and a $3 per credit hour technology fee will be added. Proceeds from the fee will be used to acquire and maintain information technology equipment. Both changes take effect in the fall. The trustees also will be asked to approve an increase of $5 per credit hour in the Student Union fee at ASU-Jonesboro. Proceeds, anticipated to be about $1.3 million, will be used to help fund the purchase of furniture, fixtures, equipment and landscaping for the new Student Union. The General Assembly also allocated $729,276 toward these purposes during the recent legislative session. Based on a 12 credit-hour course load, tuition for an in-state, undergraduate student at ASU-Jonesboro will increase $72, to $1,500. Tuition for an in-state graduate student will increase $96, to $1,896. Non-resident undergraduate students will pay an additional $192, or $3,864, and non-resident graduate students will pay an additional $240, or $4,800. All other student fees assessed at ASU will remain at their current level. During the lean economic times experienced in recent months, all higher education institutions in the state have experienced reductions in the amount of state support. ASU-Jonesboro has lost approximately $2.8 million in state support during the current fiscal year. The proposed tuition increase will offset only a portion of those lost funds; the university has managed to offset the remaining loss through a reduction in hiring, reducing purchases, delaying new activities, and other cost-cutting strategies. The tuition increase will help provide financial resources to meet Higher Learning Commission accreditation purposes; to make improvements in teaching and research support; to offset increased costs for student services; and to continue funding other initiatives designed to benefit students directly and indirectly. ASU officials will begin work with elected officials to obtain state funding in a coming special session of the Legislature, in an effort to restore money cut from operations in the last two years. The highest priority for this money is to provide for salary increases for employees, which ASU has not been able to afford since 2001. # # # |
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