Message from OSU-OKC President Natalie Shirley Regarding OSU-OKC Tuition Increase

Dear Campus Community,

Today the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for Oklahoma’s 25 public colleges and universities approved OSU-OKC’s proposed cost increase of 2.4% for the fall 2017 semester. This represents an increase of 3% for tuition and no increase in mandatory fees.

OSU-OKC’s new tuition rate will increase $2.95 per credit hour for a total cost of $101.85 per credit hour, up from $98.90. A student enrolled in 30 hours during the 2017-2018 academic year can expect to pay an additional $88.50 in tuition.

For students enrolled in upper-level courses at OSU-OKC, the tuition cost per credit hour will increase from $126.60 to $130.40, or $3.80 per credit hour. Upper-level students enrolled in 30 hours during the 2017-18 academic year will pay an additional $114.00 in annual tuition costs.

Raising tuition is never an easy decision, but I am proud we were able to keep our rate far below the statewide average tuition and mandatory fee increase of 7.1% for two-year and community colleges. Other two-year colleges in the Oklahoma City area are increasing tuition and mandatory fees by 4.9% to 8.3%, or as much as $10.55 per credit hour for the fall semester.

Of course we would prefer no tuition increase, but faced with budget cuts totaling more than $2.7 million since FY16, it was unavoidable. Raising tuition comes only after significantly reducing operational costs and not filling several staff and faculty positions. And, OSU-OKC will continue to aggressively pursue grants and partnerships that enable us to invest in programs and our students without expending appropriated dollars.

Even with this recent increase, OSU-OKC remains a tremendous value, preparing our grads for careers in some of the highest paying, most sought-after fields. According to Payscale.com, our students earn more after graduation than those from any other public two-year college in Oklahoma.

We know any bump in cost will be felt by our students, but keeping the overall increase at 2.4% minimizes the impact and allows us to continue to offer the best education at the greatest value.

Here is a link to the press release issued by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education following today’s meeting. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.