The OU Board of Regents approved the 2024 budget, a tuition increase for all OU students and voted on various agenda items in a meeting Wednesday at their retreat site in Tulsa.
Presentations were given throughout the meeting to discuss strategy and ideas for the future of the university. The first presentation explored strategic planning via trends in higher education.
Haven Ladd, a higher education strategist with EY-Parthenon, discussed the current trends in enrollment and cited evidence that national enrollment numbers have been decreasing for roughly a decade.
The regents then discussed the 2024 budget and declared a need for a 3% increase to both in-state and out-of-state tuition. This would be around $280 more per year for Oklahoma residents.
OU's Chief Financial Officer Matthew Brockwell discussed the master plan for freshman housing. Phase I totaled $195 million and Phase II is projected to total $210 million.
The National Weather Center was granted funds in the 2024 budget for an expansion totaling $9.5 million.
A spokesperson for the enrollment management division shared the demographics of the incoming OU freshman class. Oklahoma City and Western Oklahoma were the only regions in the state that had a growing yield.
The regents approved an update to the language in OU’s institutional equity documents.
The board also agreed to create a new Tailgating and Major Event Day Policy to ensure maximum safety and enjoyment for campus visitors during sports games and other events.
OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. gave his state of the university speech before the Board of Regents approved the consent agenda and began discussing the related items.
The board unanimously approved a 3% tuition increase for in-state and out-of-state students as well as tuition increases ranging from 1% to 7% for eight professional programs in the OU Health Sciences Center.
Harroz said this fall is projected to be the largest incoming class for the third consecutive year and commented on how the university plans to accommodate the 6% jump in numbers.
“The good news is we've got a multi-year plan and it's five to seven years. We know what our capital budget is, we know how much space we have,” Harroz said. “It allows you to build new dorms to replace the ones that we have while being financially responsible.”
Harroz said the university has raised over $800 million of its $2 billion fundraising goal at this time.
