UO trustees to consider tuition during regular meetings

The Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon will again take up the difficult topic of tuition at its regular meetings March 1 and 2 in the Ford Alumni Center’s Giustina Ballroom.

The board will consider a proposal from President Michael H. Schill that would increase resident undergraduate tuition by 2.84 percent and nonresident undergraduate tuition by 2.49 percent. That equates to $270 a year for resident students and $810 for nonresident students.

Public comment will remain open on the president’s recommendation through Feb. 28. The online public comment forum follows months of deliberation by the Tuition and Fee Advisory Board and several open forums held at various stages of the process.

In his recommendation, Schill notes that “this tuition plan ensures that Oregonians have access to an affordable education at one of the nation’s top research institutions. In addition, the proposed tuition level will provide budgetary support to invest in new tenure-track faculty lines, make more than $2 million in strategic investments across campus, and uphold our compensation and benefit obligations to the UO’s dedicated faculty and staff.”

In addition, the board will discuss a recently announced set of structural changes to the Clark Honors College. The tuition recommendation includes a proposed reduction of nearly 36 percent in the honors college’s differential tuition, which, when coupled with the new operational model, is expected to significantly increase the college’s competitiveness in attracting the strongest students while staying true to its shared values.

Additional topics under consideration by the board next week include mental health support and services for students, teaching quality, the global health academic program, enterprise risk management and others.

A complete list of agenda items and related materials for committee meetings and the full board session are available at trustees.uoregon.edu.