The University of Missouri system has released the numbers of how high tuition could increase if the state slashes its budget.
System administrators want curators to increase tuition next year by 7.5 percent on the Columbia campus, 8.2 percent at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and by 9 percent at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. The Kansas City campus would see a 3 percent increase.
Similar increases are being sought for graduate programs and non-resident undergraduates. The proposals follows a recommended 12.5 percent cut in state funding for higher education in Gov. Jay Nixon's proposed fiscal 2013 budget.
MU Chancellor Brady Deaton sent out a letter this past weekend expressing his concerns over proposed state budgets to his school. Deaton said Governor Jay Nixon's recommended budget for the University of Missouri System is not acceptable. Deaton said the proposed cuts would mean job losses, higher tuition, reductions in research and the loss of top faculty to competitors.
The state budget cuts are subject to lawmaker approval. At the same time, under state law, the university system needs state approval to increase resident undergraduate tuition beyond the inflation rate.
Deaton points out, Missouri is among the bottom 5 states in the nation in support of public higher education. Deaton said, "I don't think the state can afford this. I think we need opportunities to talk to our constituents. That was one of the reasons why I wanted a letter out there, because I want to talk to the people who are affected by these kinds of budget changes, to help them understand the dire conditions that we are operating under right now."
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