Oklahoma State University to seek tuition increase Friday

OSU officials plan to seek a “minimal” tuition increase during an OSU/A&M Board of Regents meeting this week, said OSU spokesman Gary Shutt. He didn't disclose the exact size of the proposed increase.

The tuition hike is part of the university's proposed budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, which is up for approval at the meeting.

The OSU/A&M Board of Regents meets at 10 a.m. Friday at OSU-Tulsa's executive board meeting room.

OSU's funding remained flat under a budget for the upcoming fiscal year passed last month by the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

The higher education budget is roughly the same as the system's budget for the previous year, and is based on a $955.26 million allocation for higher education that was included in the state's budget for fiscal year 2013.

The budget is $34.7 million less than Chancellor Glen Johnson requested in a budget proposal this year. Of that amount, $27.8 million would have gone toward mandatory cost increases, such as rising insurance premiums and utility costs.

Also included in the budget proposal were $4 million to pay down debt on the system's endowed chair bond issue and $98,729 for tuition waivers for concurrent enrollment courses, in which high school students can earn college credit.

Last year, OSU raised tuition just under 5 percent for undergraduates and just over 7 percent for graduate students.