Nixon calls for tuition freeze at MSU

During a visit to Missouri State University yesterday, Gov. Jay Nixon called for a tuition freeze at the state's public four-year universities as he prepares to introduce additional higher eduction funding in the fiscal 2015 budget.

“To keep our economy growing, we need every student in Missouri to have access to an affordable college education and to graduate without a heavy burden of debt,” Nixon said in a news release. “Our efforts to hold down tuition and support our scholarship and financial aid programs have helped make Missouri a national leader in college affordability."

The tuition freeze would come in exchange for $36.7 million in additional funding for the Show-Me State's public universities. When Nixon presents his budget proposal to the General Assembly in January, he plans to ask for the 5 percent increase, the release said.

His request calls for public universities to keep tuition flat for undergraduates during the 2014-15 academic year.

At MSU, current tuition for undergraduate, Missouri residents is $204 per credit hour, according to MissouriState.edu. The MSU Board of Governors voted in early 2013 to increase tuition from $200.48 for upcoming academic year. Tuition for nonresident undergrads went up to $420 per credit hour from $412.