Tuition and Fee Process
The President recommends tuition rate and mandatory fee* rates to the Board based on advice from the University Budget Committee (UBC). Tuition rates are set by the Board of Trustees upon recommendation from the President. The Board's policy on the Tuition and Fee Process states that:
"Tuition and mandatory enrollment fees are established annually by the Board, generally at the Board's meeting in January, March or May prior to the applicable academic year. When setting tuition and fees, the Board considers a number of factors, including the desire to provide access to degree programs, create a diverse student body, maintain strong degree programs at every level, and develop and maintain the human and physical infrastructure necessary to support Oregon's educational outcome goals. The Board's commitment to maintaining the long-term quality of the university's programs for students and for the state requires a deliberate approach to managing costs, planning for inflationary increases in cost, and considering new strategic investments. The Board, based on its commitment and fiduciary duties, including managing anticipated inflationary costs increases, established the expectation that annual tuition rate increases will be between 2 and 5 percent. Changes outside this range will be considered when necessitated by external factors such as changes in state funding, costs of state-provided benefits, or reductions in program scope or costs."
* Mandatory fees include Building Fees, Student Health Services Fees and Matriculation Fees. Whereas, student incidental fees (supporting things like Rec Sports, the MU, Cultural Centers, etc.) are developed by the Student Fee Committee of ASOSU and ASCC. These groups make recommendations of fee rates to the President who then presents university recommendations to the Board for final approval.
Role of the University Budget Committee
The UBC includes student government representatives, students at large, staff, academic faculty, professional faculty and administrators and begins their work in fall. They review the overall budget of the institution, historical tuition and fee trends, comparative data for peer institutions, the University's budget and projected costs, and anticipated state appropriation levels. Cost projections include the inflation components noted above, costs for any expected enrollment growth (faculty and advisors for new Ecampus growth, for example) and any new initiatives or investments (such as additional money for building repairs). Over several meetings, the UBC considers these factors and makes recommendations to the Provost and President for all tuition rates (undergraduate, graduate, differential, non-resident, resident) as well as mandatory fees (student health fees and matriculation fees). Meeting notes and materials are posted online for the university community. The recommendations are made by the end of January. The UBC convenes tuition forums for student input and solicits public comment through mid-November. The President and Associate Vice President for Budget and Resource Planning share feedback from those discussions with the Board along with the recommended tuition rates and mandatory fee rates.
Factors to consider
The University Budget Committee recognizes that there are annual increases to costs largely outside the control of the institution. Tuition is over 60% of university revenues, so these costs place annual pressure on tuition rates. Rate increases occur every year and can be offset some years, in part, by reductions in programs or personnel if the university chooses that path. Examples of cost factors include:
- Salary increases
- Increases for health insurance and retirement plans
- Inflation on the costs of goods and services
The UBC also takes into account OSU's pricing structure relative to other universities--both in-person and online programs--as well as overall issues of affordability and access for students.