The Ohio State Board of Trustees approved a 3.5 percent tuition increase for the 2011-2012 academic school year during their quarterly meeting Friday. Because mandatory fees were frozen at their current rate, the total cost to students is going to increase by 3.3 percent.
Along with it go a 5.7 percent increase in room and board costs for students who live in on-campus housing.
The increase means undergraduate students will pay $315 more for tuition during the school year, bringing costs up to $9,735 per year. For those who choose to live in university provided housing and dorms, it will now cost on average $504 more per year.
Tuition for graduate students, the non-resident surcharge for out-of-state students and parking fees will also increase 5 percent.
Senior vice president and chief financial officer Geoffrey Chatas said financial aid will be increased significantly to try and help students.
“In asking for increases, we are mindful of the economic hardships this may cause some of our students,” Chatas said.
Chatas said that they will freeze the other mandatory fees that go along with tuition to stay the same.
These include the recreational fee to use the RPAC, the Union facility fee and student activity fee that is used for events sponsored by the Ohio Union Activity Board, among other charges.
“In dollar terms, this will continue to allow us to be the second cheapest public university in Ohio,” Chatas said. “This is very important because we continue to focus on having an exceptional value proposition for our students.”
All increases are subject to the approval of the state of Ohio’s budget.
