In-state tuition flat at 2 colleges

Hikes avoided at UALR, UA

Tuition and mandatory fees are proposed to rise by 5% or more at some University of Arkansas System campuses after three years of much smaller increases.

But the two largest schools in the UA System — the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock — would hold the line on tuition, at least for in-state students. Combined tuition and fees at UA-Fayetteville would remain within 1% of costs now and at UALR costs would stay flat.

The UA System board of trustees will consider tuition-and-fee proposals at a two-day meeting in Batesville scheduled to begin Wednesday.

Colleges and universities seeking larger rate increases are citing rising costs, according to Nate Hinkel, a spokesman for the UA System, who also noted that the covid-19 pandemic has affected campuses differently.

“Our institutions worked diligently to balance their budgets without significant increases to tuition and fees the past couple of years, but we have reached a point where several institutions feel the need to request increases to deal with increasing operating costs,” Hinkel said in an email.

UA-Fayetteville, the state’s largest university, would see tuition and mandatory fee costs increase to

$9,656 annually in 2022-23 from $9,572. If approved, this would be an increase of 0.87% for an in-state student taking a 30-hour schedule over the academic year, with the increase due entirely to rising fees rather than a tuition hike.

At UA-Fayetteville, in recent years about half or more of incoming freshmen arrive from outside Arkansas.

Out-of-state tuition would rise to $847.32 per credit hour from $816.06, an increase of about 3.8%, though UA-Fayetteville’s largest non-resident scholarship program for academically qualifying students can reduce the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition by as much as 90%.

The state’s largest university is also proposing roomand-board increases across all categories.

Housing costs alone for a double-occupancy room in Pomfret Hall — the largest dorm on campus, with 803 beds, according to UA-Fayetteville’s website — would increase to $6,572 from $6,381, an increase of about 3%.

UALR would keep tuition and fees as they are now, at $9,529 annually, with residence hall rates also staying the same.

The mixed picture comes at a time when some large public universities elsewhere have upped their tuition rates. The University of Missouri System last week cited recent data on consumer inflation in its announcement of a 4.5% tuition increase.

State authorities in Tennessee and Kansas took action to keep tuition at public universities frozen, but in Arkansas the governing boards of public colleges and universities set tuition and fee rates.

Hinkel said state funding for higher education in Arkansas “has not kept up with inflation in many years.”

“While we are thankful that state funding has remained steady during this time, it is also not keeping pace with rising costs, including increasing health care and property insurance, along with millions of dollars in deferred maintenance needs for facilities across the system, among others,” Hinkel said.

Three out of the five schools considered four-year universities in the UA System would see combined tuition and mandatory fee increases greater than in recent years.

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith has what it calls its UAFS Promise program that allows returning students to continue paying their current tuition rate, but the tuition rate for new freshmen taking a 30-hour schedule would increase to $5,250 for new students compared to $5,130.

If approved, the tuition and mandatory fee costs at UAFS would increase to $7,984 annually in 2022-23 from $7,339.50 for a new instate student taking a 30-hour schedule over the academic year, an increase of 8.8%.

For three years, the tuition-and-fee rates at UAFS have not changed.

Residence hall rates at the Fort Smith campus would remain the same this fall, but university apartment rates would increase depending on the type of housing, according to other proposed rates being presented to the board.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff also is seeking to raise tuition and fees after three years of having the same rates.

The historically Black university is seeking to increase tuition and fees to $8,574 from $8,064, an increase of 6.32%. Room rates would not change.

The University of Arkansas at Monticello is proposing to raise tuition and mandatory fee costs to $8,431 from $8,029, a rise of about 5%. Room rates would not change.

Among the seven two-year colleges that are a part of the UA System, all are seeking tuition increases.

The University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville is seeking the largest combined increase, proposing that its tuition and mandatory fees increase to $3,450 from $3,150. This would be an increase of 9.52%.

Hinkel said the affordability of college is “critically important to our mission to serve Arkansans,” adding that “institutional leaders all take that into account when requesting tuition and fee rates.”