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WSU officials recommend 3.5 percent tuition hike
FAIRBORN - Top Wright State University leaders recommended a $273 tuition increase Thursday making the school the first public university in the region to move to raise tuition to help offset budget cuts.
Raising tuition to the proposed 3.5 percent cap will help WSU offset a $14 million a year loss of state funding - the largest reduction in the schools history. The proposed state budget cuts higher education spending 10.5 percent next year.
“We are going to have to make some tough and difficult decisions,” David Hopkins, university president, told a gathering of hundreds of university employees at the school’s annual budget meeting.
The tuition hike will raise about $4 million next year and the university can save about $6 million by eliminating 75 vacant positions, said Hopkins and Matt Filipic, chief financial officer. The remainder will be made up through more budget trimming.
Filipic’s budget presentation painted a grim picture for Ohio’s support of higher education. Filipic showed how per student state support has historically shrunk putting Ohio in the bottom third in the nation for college and university funding.
Schools across the state are expected to follow WSU example and increase costs to students to offset the reductions in state support. “Most schools are considering a 3.5 percent increase,” said Bruce Johnson, president of the Inter-University Council of Ohio, a university advocate group.
The university’s board of trustees will vote on the proposed budget and tuition increase at their regular meeting June 10.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Colleges and Universities
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By Undergrad
May 27, 2011 5:31 PM | Link to this
Honestly, I don’t know anyone who didn’t see this coming. The max allowable is 3.5%, and you can already see cuts being made across the board daily- simply put, our incoming generation will have to start to make big sacrifices to put this country back on track.
By Mike
May 27, 2011 2:17 PM | Link to this
It wouldnt be a problem if a degree from WSU was worth it. WSU isnt even regarded as the best school in Dayton, let alone Ohio. And nobody outside of Ohio has heard of it. Better to get an associates from Sinclair; it will yield the same results for a lot less money and in just 2 years instead of 4.
By Think
May 27, 2011 7:55 AM | Link to this
Undergrad Student: the grant cuts are not at WSU’s discretion, those are mostly federal, some private. Yes, you must pay your tuition, but they must meet huge financial obligations while continuing to accomplish their mission. Please note the overall cut to the U is 10.5%- you are only being asked to absorb 3.5%. This is the largest cut the state univs have had to absorb in probably your lifetime. I sympathize but please try to see the whole picture.
By Three in college
May 27, 2011 7:30 AM | Link to this
Sure go ahead and raise tuition, I will just ask my boss for a raise to cover the extra cost. Hey, hang on a second! I haven’t had a raise in three years! Good thing nothing else like gas or food has gone up in the last three years! I know, I am lucky to have a job in the economic wasteland known as Dayton, Ohio.
By Joe Kobo
May 26, 2011 10:31 PM | Link to this
Raise tuition. Makes sense to me. Why not. I mean if you can get away with it. Talk about taxation without representation. Screw it only 3 -4 percent that’s nothing. Make it 10 percent that makes more sense in today’s state of economy. Maybe the grad’s can become engineers at the Automotive plants in Dayton or at NCR.
By Former WSU Student
May 26, 2011 8:04 PM | Link to this
@ undergrad student - Tuition is $2,599 a quarter, you are only talking about an extra ~$91. Honestly, if you can’t swing an extra $273 a year for tuition then go to a credit union, bank, or family member and get a loan. Stop complaining.
By Stacy Law
May 26, 2011 6:30 PM | Link to this
The basic assumption is that there is no waste inside a public university. The fact is, there is waste - substantive waste. Until students en masse start treating the university as a vendor, and their admission as a contract, nothing will change. The fact they can enroll a student without disclosing a firm costs is wrong.
By Not WSU Grad
May 26, 2011 2:56 PM | Link to this
I cannot wait to hear the students cry. Unfortunately they will completely miss the irony of the fact that they are the first ones to cry when WSU attempts to cut costs by reducing staff or student services. WSU apparently needs a basic economics course that can explain the concept of a budget.
By Undergrad Student
May 26, 2011 1:21 PM | Link to this
Of course they would recommend a tuition hike they are not the ones struggling to make tuition each year. You cut the funding for people attending school like grants and then raise the tuition for those already struggling to pay the current tuition.
By ohiodale
May 26, 2011 12:53 PM | Link to this
Its way better to increase tuition by 3.5%, which is only for 4 years of a student’s life, than to raise taxes on a worker for the rest of their lives. I’m sure there will be a bunch of whinning about this even those its not that much of an increase.