Oregon tuition to rise by modest amount
U of O remains most expensive university
By JULIA SILVERMAN
Associated Press
Sunday, June 8, 2008 2:31 AM PDT
PORTLAND — Tuition at Oregon’s seven public universities will rise an average of 3.4 percent during the 2008-2009 school year, under rates approved Friday by the state Board of Higher Education.
The state’s most expensive school will continue to be the University of Oregon in Eugene, where tuition and fees will come to $6,435.
The cheapest will be Western Oregon University in Monmouth, where students have been guaranteed the same tuition for four years under a schoolwide initiative. Returning students at Western will pay $5,868, while new students will pay $5,982.
In a move that’s long been encouraged by students, the universities have also pledged to begin rolling ‘‘resource fees’’ into base tuition, so students can know the full cost of their education upfront, and be able to plan accordingly. Full integration should be complete by 2011.
So-called ‘‘resource fees,’’ which can include charges for anything from an energy surcharge to a ‘‘student services’’ fee to an extra cost for an equipment-heavy major like science or music, have been multiplying in Oregon in recent years, as colleges have looked for new ways to raise money in the face of declining state support.
But students cried foul, noting that such fees were often revealed only after students had settled on financial aid packages, leaving them with a gap in their budgets that could add up to more than $1,000.
Still, some university administrators, including departing University of Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer, were leery of rolling tuition and fees together, saying the universities needed the flexibility to make their own financial decisions.
Under pressure from student groups, legislators required that tuition rise no more than an average of 3.4 percent next year.
Average annual tuition and fees for an Oregon student aiming to graduate in four years have increased 47 percent since 2001.
