Planning for the 2005-06 OU budget is under way, and students may see another increase in tuition and fees next year, OU President David L. Boren said.

Boren said his top priorities for the next fiscal year are raising faculty salaries, hiring more faculty, raising money for scholarships and getting the capital bond issue passed.

Under the proposed $500 million bond issue, which would be supported by the new state lottery, OU would receive more than $100 million for new buildings and renovations.

Boren said he is urging the legislature to pass the bond issue because state funding for Oklahoma higher education remains low after cuts several years ago, and tuition increases may have to cover more of OU's costs for the foreseeable future.

"Unless the state is going to dramatically increase its support percentage of our operating budget, you just probably are looking at annual adjustment of tuition and fees," Boren said.

He said he expects any increases would be less than last year's.

For the 2004-05 academic year, tuition and fees were raised by about 6 percent for in-state students and about 9 percent for out-of-state students, according to an open letter from Boren printed in the April 22, 2004 edition of The Oklahoma Daily.

Final numbers cannot be set until the end of the semester when the state legislature decides how much money to allocate for higher education funding, said Sheri Mauck, associate vice chancellor for budget and finance with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

The legislature convenes next week. Once it makes its decisions, the state regents will decide how much to give OU and other universities in the state.

"We have a formula in which we have base funding for each institution," Mauck said. "It's based on program budget needs."

State funding has dropped in recent years, forcing universities to rely on tuition and fees to make up the difference, Boren said.

In 1993, state money made up 35.5 percent of OU's revenue, but last year it covered 20.3 percent. Despite the cuts, Boren said OU and Oklahoma State still have the lowest tuition rates in the Big 12.

Mauck said the strengthening economy is slowly pushing state revenues back up, but she does not expect improvements to translate to more money for universities this year.

"We're not expecting large increases for the overall budget for higher education," Mauck said.

Some OU students said they are not happy about possible tuition increases, but they could accept hikes if they see positive results.

"If they're putting it to good use, it doesn't bother me as much," said Jonathan Edwards,international studies sophomore. "In order for growth to be made, sometimes sacrifices have to be made."

Brittany Graffis, aerospace engineering junior, said low tuition drew her to OU, and increases in out-of-state tuition would put more pressure on her parents' finances.

"OU prides itself on being a low-tuition school in the Big 12, so they should keep that focus," Graffis said.

Dean Spears, UOSA president, said he hopes student government will become more involved in the budget planning process this year. He said he wants to take a trip to the capitol to lobby for more money for higher education.

"It is my plan, at least, to propose several resolutions urging the state legislature to increase funding to the university," Spears said. "I hope UOSA can come together to take a position on this issue, to advocate for students on this issue."

Boren said he hopes to offset possible tuition increases by adding more scholarships, especially for students from middle-income families. He said raising money from private donors for programs like the Sooner Heritage scholarships is one of his top priorities.

"We have greatly increased the number of students receiving scholarships at OU," Boren said. "They really do help buffer the costs."

Boren said he hopes to concentrate on shoring up OU's quality of instruction during the budgeting process. He said that during the past few years, faculty raises have not kept up with other Big 12 schools, and that the number of faculty compared to the number of students has dropped.

"We need to get back on the track of giving annual raises to the faculty and staff," Boren said.

OU Provost Nancy Mergler said increasing salaries is also one of her priorities for next year . She said the raises faculty received last year were just the first step.

"People got raises Oct. 1, but it had been after a three-year dry spell," Mergler said.

Graffis said she would be glad to see more of her tuition go to paying faculty.

"It's probably a good idea to keep giving professors raises because the quality of the professors is what defines the university," she said.
hello there & you too