Tuition Increases for 2005-06 Academic Year

The increase will allow UA administrators to offer a pool of funds equivalent to a 3.5 percent salary increase for faculty and non-classified staff members and meet the costs of the state pay plan for classified staff for the coming fiscal year.
Additionally, the university will receive approximately $4.6 million in funding from the Arkansas State General Assembly to help support operating costs on campus.

Overall, tuition for the 2005-06 academic year increased 6 percent from $137.15 per credit hour to $145.38, the smallest increase since 2001. Mandatory student fees increased from $34 per credit hour to $37.77 per credit hour (using Arts and Sciences fees), an increase of 11 percent, the largest since 2001.

The 7 percent overall increase of tuition and fees is equal to the increase for the academic year 2003-04 and is slightly less than the 7.7 percent increase from last year.

According to Don Pederson, vice chancellor for finance and administration, approximately one-quarter of the increase supports the Enhanced Learning Center, which provides tutorials and learning assistance and is expected to improve student success in basic coursework.

“This increase will create more than $3.5 million in net tuition revenue,” Pederson added. “That revenue will allow for pay increases to faculty and staff and move the university closer to bridging the gap created by the salary freeze that occurred two years ago.”

In 2003, pay increases to UA employees earning more than $35,000 annually were frozen to help offset financial losses from budget cuts, unavoidable utility increases and decreased state funding. Those employees earning less than $35,000 received cost of living increases totaling $504,000 which came from a 6.6 percent tuition increase.
In spite of the university’s tuition and fee increases, final costs for the upcoming academic year remain competitive with regional institutions of similar stature.

The University of Kansas, currently involved in a five-year improvement plan, raised tuition and fees 13.3 percent to $2,706.50 per semester. The University of Missouri system approved a 4 percent tuition and fee increase for its flagship campus this fall and remains more expensive than the U of A by more than $700 per semester.

The Board of Regents for the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University have not met to determine tuition and fees for the 2005-06 academic year. According to the OU Office of the Bursar, the 2004-05 tuition and fees for an entering freshman enrolled in 15 hours cost $3,159.50. The Oklahoma State Web site estimates tuition and fees per semester for the 2004-05 year to be $2,280.65.

Below is a list of tuition and fee costs per semester for the University of Arkansas relative to its peer public Southeastern Conference institutions (Totals are calculated on a 15-hour semester for an in-state resident):
 

editor’s note:    For a comprehensive breakdown of undergraduate tuition and fees,
including additional fees for colleges/schools, go to: http://catalogofstudies.uark.edu/current/studies/05_Fees_Cost.pdf.
Graduate tuition and fee increases will be posted at a later date.