ASHLAND, Ore. – Tough decisions were made tonight as Southern Oregon University decided to increase tuition rates for the coming school year. The tuition hike is part of a contingency plan in the event state funding comes up short. The cost will be rising for the 2019-2020 school year no matter what, but the amount that tuition will increase has yet to be decided.
SOU’s president presented a recommendation for different percentage increase options. The recommendations came from both the president and the tuition advisory council and were based on the amount of funding they were projected to get from the state’s budget. The board of trustee’s voted Thursday to accept the proposed numbers, which means tuition for students at the least will increase eight point five percent. At most, it would be an increase of 13.5%.
“Our revenue sources are primarily state funding and tuition and fees from students and their families. So that’s why there’s this direct relationship between the two. We hope for more state funding so the contribution from students and families can come down,” SOU president, Linda Schott said.
The president says after speaking to legislators during a visit to Oregon’s capital, they could hear back on numbers as soon as June 10th. The budget isn’t scheduled to be finalized until July.
When the legislature approves the exact funding for public universities, the board of trustees can come back and make any change to the tuition increase if necessary.
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