OU’s new flat rate tuition policy directly impacts more than half the undergraduate student body by influencing students to take more hours or be forced to pay higher tuition per credit hour.
This summer, the OU Board of Regents passed the flat rate tuition program, which charges students one rate for tuition, regardless of hours enrolled. Students taking 12 hours pay the same tuition as students taking 18 hours.
More than 9,000 students have opted to enroll in fewer than 15 hours and pay higher tuition rates this semester. The rest of the undergraduate student body is taking 15 or more hours.
10,661 students were enrolled in 12 to 14 credit hours during the previous fall semester, before the flat rate policy was implemented, said Matt Hamilton vice president and registrar. This semester, after the policy was implemented, 9,197 students enrolled in between 12 and 14 hours — a 14 percent decrease.
These numbers suggest nearly half the students on campus are affected by the new flat rate policy. Either because a student is taking more credit hours, or the same student is paying more for the hours he or she is taking.
Students who wish to take less than 15 hours can apply for an exemption from the policy. This semester, 505 out of 612 students that applied received exemptions.
Students applied for exemptions for reasons, including medical restrictions, graduation requirements and internship involvement. The most common reason students got exemptions is because they didn’t need 15 or more hours to graduate on time.
Students who take less than 15 credit hours are also able to make up those hours in intersession and summer courses, according to the policy. While it is too early to tell how many students will take advantage of such courses, it does provide another avenue for students to avoid a tuition increase as a result of taking fewer than 15 hours during regular fall/spring semesters.
Political science junior Scott Wilson, works a minimum of 20 hours a week, and typically, full time as a supervisor for a political polling telephone center.
He, like some other working-students, had to make a choice between enrolling in 15 or more credit hours or taking 12 and not getting what he paid for.
“Working full-time while taking 15 hours is entirely out of the question," Wilson said. “It is impossible to pursue both of these as full-time commitments, simultaneously.”
He said that he did not want his classes to suffer because of his job or the other way around.
Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program academic scholarships, pays for Wilson’s school and his family helps him with his bills.
The benefit of flat rate tuition comes when students can take more than “the required” 15 hours and save money by speeding up their college careers, he said. However, working students find themselves in an unsustainable situation.
Wilson plans to take no more than 12 hours each semester until he graduates but might take an intersession course and recoup his money that way.
“This policy was made with good intentions and might help a few students,” Wilson said. “It was not well-thought as to its broad implications and did not take into consideration the needs of a large portion of the student population, which could use help in a timely graduation.”
Some other students benefit from the policy. Those taking more credit hours will still be charged the same flat rate. This semester, 944 students are taking one class more than 15 hours or 18 hours — an 11.8 percent increase over fall 2012, Hamilton said. The program offers a chance for students to graduate early or participate in more classes.
When OU President David Boren announced flat rate tuition, he also announced there would be no in-state tuition increase for the 2013-2014 academic school year.
But full time students taking less than 15 credit hours are paying more than they did last year. The flat rate proposal to the state regents included a $131.90 per credit hour in-state tuition cost. Students taking 12 hours pay approximately $390 more per semester than they would have before flat rate tuition.
While these numbers are speculative, because it is impossible to know how much tuition would have increased without the flat rate policy, they do suggest students taking 12 hours without gaining and exemption are subject to a 20 percent increase in tuition rates, not including mandatory fees, for taking 12 hours the semester before.
Looking at the number of students taking 12, 13 and 14 credit hours this year, and adding up the difference between the number of hours students are paying for and the number of hours students are actually taking, reveals the increased revenue generated by the university. If a student is taking only 14 hours but paying for 15 under the flat rate, the university gains one hour of added revenue, or $131.90.
In total, the university is generating extra revenue from 19,492 credit hours from full time students taking less than 15 hours. This is about $2.5 million in added revenue.
The university will incur extra costs from the program, especially from students taking more than 15 hours and students taking classes over the summer, but it is hard to tell how much those costs amount to.
It’s clear who benefits from this program.
Students who take 15 or more hours per semester will pay significantly less than they would otherwise, especially if they are taking extra hours or graduate classes as undergraduates. But those taking between 12 and 14 credit hours without an exemption are subject to a tuition increase.
