How did almost half the state's colleges and universities avoid raising tuition and fees?

The presidents or chief financial officers of 14 Oklahoma public colleges and universities had to go before the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to present their rationale for requesting increases in tuition and fees for the 2024-25 academic year.

Most, but not all, were approved at the regents' meeting last week, but not without some trepidation. One regent, Courtney Warmington, called the annual June meeting for consideration of tuition hikes “my least favorite meeting of the year.” He asked University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz, who requested a 3% increase for OU , “When will it be the case that you will not need these tuition increases?”

However, in what’s been a growing trend in recent years, almost as many state colleges opted to hold the line on tuition and fees instead of seeking an increase.

Eleven of the state system’s 25 schools chose not to change the amount they charge the average student for tuition, and a common thread ran through their public rationale for doing so — the desire to keep a college education affordable. They emphasized keeping higher education within financial reach of Oklahoma students without forcing them to roll up thousands of dollars of debt in the form of student loans.

"Affordability is still an obstacle for many of our students and families,” said Mautra Staley Jones, the president of Oklahoma City Community College, which has kept tuition steady for seven straight years. “We aim to remove barriers to education so anyone who desires to attain a degree can achieve that dream.”

Oklahoma State University’s decision to not raise tuition and fees drew headlines, but two other four-year state schools — the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha and Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva — joined OSU in that decision. Northwestern now hasn’t raised tuition in four years.

“With no increase, we can ensure that all students have the opportunity to pursue their academic goals without the burden of escalating costs for another year,” Northwestern President Bo Hannaford said. “We are creating Oklahoma’s future workforce, and we want to prioritize our students’ needs while they’re investing in their future.”

Eight of the state’s 12 community colleges also have flat tuition rates for 2024-25: Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton, Murray State College in Tishomingo, Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa and Enid, OCCC, Redlands Community College in El Reno, Rose State College in Midwest City, Seminole State College and Tulsa Community College.

The majority of those schools have not raised tuition for consecutive years. Redlands, Murray State and OCCC each kept their rates the same for a seventh straight year while Eastern held firm for a fourth straight year.

“During a time of escalating inflation costs, it was a priority of the college to continue to provide an excellent student experience without increasing the financial burden on our students and their families,” Murray State spokeswoman Robyn Peterson said.

Janie Thompson, the chair of the Redlands Board of Regents, echoed that sentiment.

"It is incredibly important to us to ensure that a college education remains within reach, allowing students to stay on track and achieve their educational goals,” Thompson said. “Our commitment to fiscal responsibility has enabled us to keep tuition rates steady, reaffirming our dedication to supporting our community and investing in the future success of our students."

Holding the line against significant financial pressure

Presidents who asked regents for tuition hikes noted such decisions aren’t easy — “There is nothing cavalier about this,” Harroz said.

But there’s no doubt the cost of providing higher education is rising. Colleges and universities are dealing with providing salary increases for faculty and staff, increasing utility and employee health insurance costs and a growing need to address deferred maintenance issues on campuses.

University leaders also must deal with the same inflationary pressures their students, and the students’ families, face while purchasing goods and services from vendors.

“With the rising costs of — well, everything — it was a challenge in the budgeting process to not increase tuition costs,” Seminole State spokesman Josh Hutton said.

The state Legislature has provided more funding for state higher education the past two years, including nearly $1.024 billion for the fiscal year that began July 1. Lawmakers also began addressing the $1.5 billion in deferred-maintenance needs in the higher education system with a $350 million appropriation for such needs at state properties, state parks and state colleges.

But even with the increase in state funding, it’s not uncommon for OU, OSU and even smaller institutions to seek direct funding for projects from the Legislature, outside of the amount allocated to state regents for distribution. That’s an issue that needs to be addressed, state Sen. Adam Pugh, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, told regents last month.

“We can’t have a system where 25 institutions come to the Capitol and fight for directed dollars,” said Pugh, R-Edmond. “I don’t think that’s healthy for us. Then it just becomes a battle of who has the best lobbyist, who has the largest alumni base, whose donors are the most influential at the Capitol, and all of a sudden we starting picking and choosing winners and losers. … We can’t get to a place where we’re hearing 25 different voices of need and it’s not all orchestrated or coordinated by (state regents).”

Notably, three schools that did ask for direct legislative appropriations — Rogers State University in Claremore, East Central University in Ada and Langston University — each had all or part of their requests to raise tuition and fees denied by state regents the day after Pugh made his comments to regents. Regents did approve the tuition increase request from OU, which also asked for direct legislative appropriations for the construction of two buildings.

Senate education leader urges efficiency

Pugh is a proponent of colleges finding ways to generate efficiencies — by streamlining administration, working together to avoid duplication of programs and services and developing a systemwide plan for spending, taking into account the needs of Oklahoma families. He urged regents to “consider what is our plan for the financial health of the system” because “our resources are finite.”

“I have heard, time and time again, the concern about the cost of higher education, just writ large, not necessarily any one particular institution or even us as a state,” he said. “But we know proximity and access are the two most important factors for young people to enter an institution of higher education. … I don’t think the cost curve can continue to outpace the normal costs of goods and services across the country.”

Decisions about raising tuition, Pugh said, are important “for a 16-year-old in a small town somewhere who is going to get to a point where they may think college is the right way for them to pursue a particular career, and then they may look at the price tag and not even know that there’s financial aid available, and a number of scholarship opportunities. They may simply look at the bottom line, dollars and cents, and say, ‘I don’t think my family can take this on right now.’ That may deter them from all that God’s called them to be.”

Pugh said his goal is for the Legislature to be the “funder” of higher education.

“We’ve kind of reached an imbalance there, where there’s, for some institutions, if not the majority — I don’t know — where we continue to put that burden on somebody else, i.e., maybe the student, maybe federal guaranteed subsidized loans, maybe the taxpayers — and it’s not just the state of Oklahoma being the funder of the preponderance of the cost of higher education,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How did almost half the state's colleges and universities avoid raising tuition and fees?