COLUMBIA, Mo. — Undergraduate tuition within the four-campus University of Missouri System will rise 5% effective this fall semester, the governing board of the public university network decided Thursday.
With the changes approved by the UM Board of Curators, Missouri resident undergrads whose program is on the Columbia campus’ lowest-cost tier will pay $325 more per semester if they sign up for 15 credit hours.
University officials pointed to inflationary price increases in justifying tuition hikes for next year. Meeting documents say the university is focused on finding efficiencies but that “some price increase is necessary to continue investment in academic excellence.â€
The 5% jump comes despite the Republican-led Legislature increasing core higher education funding 3% for the fiscal year beginning in July.
Christian Basi, spokesman for UM System, said the state had shown strong support in the last several years. The 3% increase follows a 7% bump in support for the current fiscal year.
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“Certainly, the support that we get from the state is critical and we are very appreciative of any support that the state can continue to give us,†Basi said.
“Saying that, obviously we are going to continue communications with the state, with our elected officials to always tell — show them, how investing in Mizzou, and investing in the University of Missouri system, is a great thing for the state,†he said.
For fiscal year 2024, Missouri ranked near the bottom of states in terms of per capita state support for higher education, at $207 per person, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.
With the change approved Thursday, the cost per credit hour for an undergrad on a lowest-cost degree path taking 15 credit hours at the Columbia campus — will increase from $433 last fall to $455 per credit hour this upcoming fall.
At the University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, undergrads on a 15-hour schedule, working toward a degree , will pay $360 more per semester starting this fall.
The cost at UMSL, for degrees in that tier, will rise from $480 per credit hour to $504 per credit hour, according to meeting documents.
The UM System shifted to a tiered approach to tuition costs beginning last fall. Under the new system, a student is charged a different tuition rate based on their major program of study.
Based on a 15-hour schedule an undergraduate studying hospitality management at the Columbia campus, for example, will be charged the $455 rate.
Meanwhile, someone working toward a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in Columbia will pay $581 per credit hour, based on the 15-hour schedule.
On the Columbia and Rolla campuses, the rate students pay per credit hour also varies based on how many credit hours they take per semester.
The same Columbia civil engineering student will pay $726 per credit hour if they sign up for only 10 credit hours in a semester, according to .