The University of Missouri System (UM) Board of Curators approved a 4.1 percent increase in tuition and most fees at its meeting on April 5 in Rolla. The raise in rates is based on the increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and is effective beginning with the 2008 summer session.
A student enrolled in 15 credit hours will spend $291 more per semester for the base tuition, which will go from $7,077 to $7,368.
Documents released at the meeting specify this cost as the "sticker price" and indicate that with the amount of grant aid distributed, the average student should actually expect to pay $2,726 in base tuition in FY2009. Needier students (those with family income of less than $40,000) can expect to pay on average $520 for 15 credit hours, according to the Curators' report.
The Curators also approved the latest figures for the new Student Union at UMKC. The total project cost has been reduced to $38,400,000 from the original estimate of $45,500,000. Because of this, the supplemental student fee (effective when the building opens) has been reduced by 18 percent. Instead of $16.75, the fee is now set at $13.75 per credit hour up to a maximum of 12 credit hours.
Comparing total student fees, at $424.00, UMKC will become the most expensive of the four UM campuses for additional costs beyond the base tuition. Technically, University of Missouri-Columbia is costlier, with a total fee of $439.18, but of that, $104 is an optional fee for athletic tickets.
The Curators also discussed a bill on a board position for a student curator passed by the Missouri State Senate 31-2, but still in committee at the House. At present, the Missouri Constitution mandates a nine-member board for the UM, equal to the number of congressional districts, with no more than one member from each district. If Missouri loses a district in the next census, the bill would transform the current non-voting student representative position into that of a curator with full voting rights except for personnel issues.
Four of the curators spoke at the meeting against passage of the bill, with only Tony Luetkemeyer, the student representative, speaking in favor.
"If we do lose that congressional seat as it indeed looks like we might, I would hate to see us foreclose any other options that might be out there," said Curator Bo Fraser, Columbia.
He suggested considering a "wild card" curator drawn from the alumni of the four campuses. He noted the rules would have to be amended, as 75 percent of the alumni would not satisfy the two-year residency requirement.
Curator Doug Russell, Lebanon, said he hoped the Board would remain with nine lay members and Curator Warren K. Erdman, Kansas City, seconded his opinion.
"I, for one, would not go down the path of having representative stakeholders of any group, whether it be alumni or whatever," Erdman said. "Unfortunately, it's not our decision to make."
Luetkemeyer said it is something the students have lobbied for very actively for years. He said the representative position was established 24 years ago and only relatively recently had the right to attend closed-session meetings been granted.
"I think this is the natural progression," Luetkemeyer said. "I think that even if the Board members are apprehensive right now, they would find that having a voting student curator would be useful to this board, useful to this university."
He said given the significant increases in tuition over the last years and the significance tuition has for the university budget, the change made sense.
"I'm not suggesting anything radical where you have more than one student on the Board of Curators," Luetkemeyer said, "but given our stake in the university … it's appropriate and it's equitable to have at least one voting student."
Board of Curators Chair Cheryl Walker, St. Louis, said she opposed the bill and hoped an eventual amendment to permit two members from the same district might be considered.
Russell concluded the discussion by saying the Board's opposition to the bill hadn't changed and would be communicated to the House.
dsimons@unews.com
