During their meeting on Friday, the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents approved an increase in tuition and fees for the next fiscal and academic year.
In a press release, president Dr. Carlos Vargas said he’s aware that the increases are higher than those made in the past.
“Unfortunately, the increase is necessary to ensure that we are able to continue providing the high-quality programs that our students have come to expect from Southeast,” said Vargas.
The Budget
In regards to the general operating budget, looking ahead, the Budget Review Committee estimated a total need of $4.2 million for the institution.
Vice president for finance and administration, Kathy Mangels says that number is based on several assumptions at this time, including that state appropriations remain flat.
“Today is the deadline for the legislature to have a budget to send to the Governor,” says Mangels. “And it’s usually sometime mid-to-late June before we know what the funding is from the Governor.”
She says the university is anticipating a decline in enrollment for the fall 2019 semester, and they’ve calculated that hit as well.
Still, Vargas is recommending a salary increase for all Southeast employees for FY2020, ranging from a minimum of $700 to 1%. Mangels says this move mirrors what Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has recommended for other state employees in his budget, and the issue was of high priority to Vargas, all employee groups, and even the budget review committee.
“As a reminder, we have not given a salary increase in the last two years to our employees,” says Mangels.
The committee has also proposed $1 million in expense reductions to balance the budget. Mangels says this includes swinging $150,000 in utility savings.
“We’ve talked about capital, about implementing things related to energy efficiency, and we’re starting to see the results of that,” says Mangels.
Overall, Southeast has already reduced the general operating budget by $9.5 million in two years, resulting in less expense reduction for FY2020.
Tuition And Fees Increase
An $11.75 increase per credit hour - for in-state undergraduate tuition - was approved by the board.
They also approved a $1 increase per credit hour in the maintenance and repair general fee, which was the result of a resolution by the Student Government in 2018 aimed at supporting information technology, maintenance and repair, and student wellness.
Student Government President Matt Rolwing said without additional revenues such as general fees, Southeast “cannot continue to provide quality services across campus.”
“I really hate that it [tuition] has to go up, but I see the need,” said Rowling.
Beginning in fall 2019, Southeast’s per-credit-hour tuition rates for undergraduates will be $260 for a Missouri resident, $461 for a non-resident, and $300 for an online-only student. For graduate students, residents will pay $331, non-residents $584, and online-only students $365.
Tuition and general fees for lower-level courses at Southeast’s regional campuses will increase $3 per credit hour, bringing that rate to $178 per credit hour. The board says this rate is consistent with rates at area community colleges.
Program and Course Fees
Regents approved a list of program and course fees which will be effective with the fall 2020 semester.
In addition to tuition, the university has a limited number of education-related fees, which Mangels says were assessed for several different reasons. One considered the unique expenses behind some courses, including supplies.
“If you think about science courses, where there may be chemicals and kits involved, it’s to help us recoup that unusual cost,” says Mangels.
Course fees were added to six courses in chemistry and physics, and existing course fees were removed from five courses in computer science. Regents also transferred the fee from one existing course, and added one new course. Mangels says these recommendations were intended to accommodate a four-year increase in costs for several lab courses at Southeast.
Every three years, Regents look at high-cost programs, and do a calculation on academic programs based on a three-year average of direct instructional cost per credit hour.
“For those we consider high-cost - which our threshold was where that direct cost was actually above what we’re charging in tuition - we have assessed a program fee on 300-400 level courses within the major, after the student actually gets into the major,” says Mangels.
A program fee is currently on seven programs in the colleges of business, computer science, nursing, music, theatre and dance, communication disorders, and mass media. Mangels says roughly 90-95% of the high cost in these programs is related to personnel cost.
After they looked at what other institutions charge for program fees for the same kinds of programs, Mangels says they found that Southeast’s were “generally lower.”
At the University of Missouri - Columbia, the fee is $94.50 per credit hour for a major in business, and $90 for a major in nursing. At the University of Missouri - St. Louis, the fee per hour for a nursing student can be nearly $200, according to Mangels’ findings.
The Regents approved raising the program fees in business, nursing and computer science by $20 per credit hour, and on theatre and dance, communication disorders and mass media by $5 per credit hour.
“We feel that what we’re recommending still makes us competitive, but helps us recognize the cost we have for these programs,” says Mangels.
The final set of recommendations approved were related to electronic course materials through the IncludED program, which provides students with a single sign-on to access Moodle, the University’s learning management system, and the electronic course materials directly from Southeast’s publisher. Regents approved fees for seven of these courses, which, according to a press release, do not provide revenue to the University but eliminate the need for a student to buy a code for an e-text from the bookstore and ensures faculty members that all students will have access to course materials on the first day of class.