Potential tuition increase up for Curator vote today

By Roseann Moring

Published April 6, 2007

ROLLA - Tuition for all UM system students might increase by 3.8 percent next year, depending on a UM system Board of Curators vote today.

The increase in tuition, which matches inflation, would go to fund pay increases for faculty members.

The money would fund a 2 percent increase in the wage pool, which means that pay would increase by 2 percent on average.

Maria Kerford, student representative to the Board of Curators, said an additional 1 percent would be added to the wage pool for special projects, including departments that are under funded.

The curators are the governing body of the UM system, which is comprised of MU, UM-Rolla, UM-St. Louis and UM-Kansas City. The board's responsibilities include approving a summary budget for the system.

Nikki Krawitz, UM system vice president for Finance and Administration, endorsed the plan and said it is the only viable option. She said to add another 1 percent to wages would lead to another 4.4 percent increase in tuition.

In 2006, the board approved a 5 percent increase in tuition.

Board of Curators Chairman Don Walsworth expressed concern about raising tuition.

"We can't keep hammering the parents and students of this state," he said.

Krawitz said there are few options and that, for funding, the system has been relying on increases in enrollment, which is not always a reliable option.

In the 2006 fall semester, MU reported record numbers in total enrollment and minority enrollment.

Chancellor Brady Deaton said MU expects enrollment to continue at a flat rate.

Deaton and the chancellors at the other UM system universities agreed that the faculty deserves more of a raise, but Deaton said placing 2 percent in the wage pool and 1 percent in special projects was the best the UM system could do at this point.

Kerford said an increase in tuition that would keep it abreast of inflation is palpable but a higher increase, like the 10 percent increase of 2002, would be unconscionable.

Kerford said she thinks state legislators under-fund education while capping tuition increases.

At the curators' January meeting, the board discussed various options and possibilities of increased state funding.

They said a 12.6 percent increase, or a 6.3 percent increase over two years, would keep tuition at or near the level it is now, and a 4.2 percent increase in appropriations would lead to the 3.8 percent tuition increase that will be voted on tomorrow.

In the Missouri General Assembly, the House approved a budget last week that would increase state funding for higher education by 4.2 percent, which led to the decision by the board.