MSU-West Plains tuition going up
Students attending Missouri State University-West Plains during the 2012-2013 academic year will see an increase in their basic tuition.
At their regular meeting Friday, March 30, members of the Missouri State University Board of Governors approved a resolution from the West Plains campus increasing tuition from $107 to $111 per credit hour. Tuition for out-of-state residents will go up from $214 to $222 per credit hour. Tuition is lower for Missouri residents because Missouri State-West Plains is a state-assisted institution, university officials explained.
“A tuition increase is necessary to help offset increasing costs and the continued cuts in state appropriations,” explained Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett. “We are mindful of the impact this has on students and have limited our increase to a very modest level.”
He also pointed out this is only the second time since 2006 tuition has been raised at Missouri State-West Plains.
The resolution approved by the board also outlined other fees charged by the university, and several of those saw increases, as well. The fee charged for courses in the Associate of Science in Nursing degree program rose from $136 per credit hour to $140 per credit hour. Out-of-state tuition for nursing courses will go from $272 to $280. Fees for courses in the Associate of Applied Science in Respiratory Care program will go from $130 to $134 for Missouri residents and $260 to $268 for non-residents. The cost of taking online courses will go from $122 per credit hour to $126.
University officials explained the fee structure for nursing, respiratory care and online courses are different than that for other classes due to the additional costs associated in providing these programs. The increases, however, are at the same rate as the increase in tuition for the university’s other courses.
Students staying in the Grizzly House residence hall also will see an increase in room and board. Those fees will go up from $2,558 per semester in 2011-12 for housing and a 20-meal-per-week plan at the Putnam Student Center cafeteria to $2,650 per semester. Summer charges will increase from $1,090 to $1,129.
Bennett noted that Missouri State-West Plains’ tuition costs remain competitive with out-of-district rates at other two-year colleges in Missouri. “We are committed to keeping costs as low as possible while offering a quality education. For the last five years, both our retention rate and our graduation rate have been higher than the average for two-year schools in Missouri,” he said.