MSU increases student fees for 2006-2007

Student fees will increase by 5.5 percent, from $164 to $173 per credit hour for Missouri-resident undergraduates. While fees will go up, it will be the smallest increase since 2001-2002, when the state legislature cut higher education funding.

The increase is smaller than the school had predicted, due to a 2 percent increase in state higher education funding.

“Because of this increase, which begins the restoration of adequate funding for public higher education, we were able to recommend smaller tuition and fee increases than we had anticipated two or three months ago,” said Missouri State President Michael T. Nietzel in a news release.

University officials also said the increase should keep MSU tuition and fees below the state and national average for public four-year institutions.

Out-of-state undergraduate fees will increase from $328 to $337 per credit hour, and fees for graduate students also increased – from $189 to $199 for resident students and from $378 to $388 for nonresidents.

Housing costs increased by 4 percent.

School officials also introduced the Choice and Predictability in Tuition, or CAP-IT, program. The program gives three options for tuition: students can continue to pay fees year to year at the rate set by the Board of Governors; students can lock in a rate for two years that would be higher than average for the first year but lower for the second year; or students can pre-pay two, three or four years at the current year’s rates.

See SBJ's March 27 issue for more on MSU's CAP-IT program.