Board of Trustees Approve 4.8 Percent Increase in Tuition and Fees

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On Friday, April 16, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees voted to increase the tuition and fees for the 2010-11 academic year by 4.8 percent for the Fayetteville campus.

The Fayetteville campus avoided an increase in tuition between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, even as many universities nationwide were forced to make double-digit increases in tuition. University of Arkansas officials said prior to the Board of Trustees vote that they did not believe the campus could operate efficiently without an increase.

“Nobody hates it more than we do at the university, because we don’t want it to be a barrier to students. But on the other hand, we’ve got to balance keeping quality and keeping the place viable,” Chancellor G. David Gearhart told the board members.

State funding during the 2009-10 fiscal year was reduced by more than $10 million due to shortfalls in state revenues, and the only other major source of revenue for the campus is tuition. To deal with the shortfall, the campus has kept salaries on campus flat and maintained a hiring freeze for most jobs.

Tuition for in-state undergraduates will be $5,211, a 4 percent increase from the previous year. Mandatory fees will be $1,557, a 7.4 percent increase from the previous year. The combined tuition and fees increase is 4.77 percent, the lower end of increases approved by the Board of Trustees for all campuses in the University of Arkansas System.

Tuition and fees for graduate students and out-of-state students increased by similar margins:

• Resident undergraduate: $6,768
• Non-resident undergraduate: $16,000
• Resident graduate: $8,558
• Non-resident graduate: $18,604.