Students this year are bracing themselves for higher tuition rates, with fall term tuition rising as much as 15 percent for some students. In spring 2004, resident undergraduates taking 15 credits paid $1236 for tuition — this year, they will fork out $1419.
Institutional Research Analyst J P Monroe said the state legislature is mostly to blame for the increases.
“It was really a failure of the legislature to fund higher education which resulted in the increases,” he said. He added that the state legislature is only responsible for about 14 percent of the University’s budget this year, the lowest contribution yet.
“It’s certainly less,” Monroe said. “It’s been going down.”
The failure of Measure 30 last year, which would have created an income tax surcharge, also added strain to the University’s budget and created a $1.5 million budget shortfall. Last January, Senior Vice President and Vice Provost John Moseley said the University would be forced to raise tuition, cut programs or do both to compensate for the shortfall.
According to Monroe, programs and classes were spared, though departmental budgets were cut.
“There’s a hiring freeze and a wage freeze, so through those steps we’ve been able to absorb some of the cuts,” he said. “But in terms of actual courses taught, that hasn’t been affected yet.”
ASUO President and Oregon Student Association Chair Adam Petkun said he’s unhappy with the increases and wants to see the state step up to the plate.
“It’s time for the state legislature to start investing in higher education because the costs are becoming unbearable,” he said, adding that “funding for need-based aid hasn’t kept pace.”
According to Petkun, the OSA is lobbying for a tuition freeze, which would mandate that tuition stay the same for the next two years and would require an additional $55 millioninvestment on the part of the legislature.
In addition to the tuition increase, the so-called “tuition plateau” has also been changed. In Fall 2003, students would pay the same tuition rate for 13 credits as they would for 16 credits, or $1,196 for a resident undergraduate. This plateau created an incentive for students to take more credits and graduate on time. However, Monroe said the University felt plateaus were unfair because students taking less than 13 credits were subsidizing the discounts for other students.
The plateau changed for winter and spring terms of 2004, so that students paid an additional $20 for each credit between 14 and 16 credits.
This year, the plateau has once again been reduced. Students can expect to pay more for that same range of credits, though those credits are still discounted.
Monroe added that so far adjustments in the plateau have not affected students carrying large loads, but Petkun countered that it will, citing that studies conducted at other schools show that plateaus do encourage students to take more credits and graduate on time. However, he added that it’s too early to judge the effects of the plateau reduction on campus.
“The elimination of the tuition plateau was opposed by the Executive,” he said.
Some students said they are largely unfazed by the increases.
Fifth year architecture student Ethan Zirin-Brown said he is letting the Financial Aid Office take the blow so that he’ll be spared at least until he gets his loan bills.
“It didn’t come out of my pocket but it’s from financial aid,” he said. He added that he will probably ask for additional shifts at work to earn extra money.
Freshmen Elizabeth Harney said that she wouldn’t change her education plans regardless of tuition increases.
“I chose this school and I’m going to pay whatever,” she said.
As for the future, Monroe said that while the University has so far been able to absorb the cuts without cutting faculty or programs, “If the situation continues, we’re sort of faced with the dilemma of whether to increase tuition again or cut programs.”

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