Board's vote holds tuition costs stable for most at UCA

Tougher entry standards also OK’d

CONWAY -- The University of Central Arkansas will not raise most students' tuition and fees for the next academic term but will increase admission standards under measures approved Friday by the school's board of trustees.

The board agreed with the administration's recommendation that tuition and fees remain the same in approving a budget of $177,009,664 for fiscal 2016. That compares with a fiscal 2015 budget of $173,764,851.

The vote was unanimous. Trustee Victor Green was absent.

Undergraduate students will continue to pay $197.25 per credit hour, which means that a student taking 15 hours will pay $3,944.40 in tuition and mandatory fees again next fall.

The graduate student rate, $243.04, according to the UCA website, stays the same.

"This is the first time in more than 20 years that a tuition and fee increase has not been a part of the approved budget," UCA said in a news release after the board meeting.

"We can't always keep the student rates flat. But when we can, we need to," trustee Joe Whisenhunt said.

President Tom Courtway and Diane Newton, vice president for finance and administration, said the university was able to hold tuition and fees stable because of $1.5 million in increased revenue from online tuition that UCA felt safe in including in its budget for the first time.

"Obviously, we've seen some bad news out of other institutions" that had to raise tuition, board Chairman Brad Lacy said. "So, it's a good day for us."

The board did raise rates for graduate programs offered fully online, from $240 to $270 per credit hour. And the board agreed to increase some costs for international students participating in the Global Education Project, which involves agreements between UCA and foreign universities. The board also voted to start a basic $5 fee per transaction for transcripts that can be requested online.

UCA currently has the third-highest tuition and fees among the state's public universities, but by the time other schools have finished acting on the matter this spring, it probably will "be in the middle," Newton said.

Also Friday, the board accepted a recommendation that UCA increase its academic standards for admission.

"We want to make sure that [students are] ready when they come here," Provost and Executive Vice President Steve Runge told the board.

This is just one step toward increasing graduation and retention rates, he said. More changes are planned, he said.

To gain unconditional admission, traditional students -- those under 25, instead of 21 as the policy is now -- must have, among other things, a 2.75 high school grade-point average, which already is required; a 21 ACT Composite/1450 SAT combined score in critical reading, math and writing compared with the currently required scores of 20 and 1390; and subject subscores that exempt the student from required remediation.

A 2.75 grade-point average is about a C.

The maximum ACT Composite score is 36.

"The SAT technically doesn't have a composite score, but for admissions purposes we often add them together," UCA spokesman Christina Madsen explained in an email. "It is technically three individual 800-point sections, so the total we base our numbers on is 2400."

For conditional admission, traditional students must have a 2.5 high school grade-point average, compared with the currently required 2.30, and a 17 ACT Composite/1210 SAT combined score, as is already required. They also must meet other requirements.

For unconditional admission, nontraditional students, those 25 and older, must have a high school diploma or General Education Development certificate and meet other requirements. They also must have either a 21 ACT Composite or a 1450 SAT combined score in critical reading, math and writing, along with individual subject subscores that exempt them from required remediation. As an alternative, they can provide the following Compass exam scores or better: 41 on algebra, 80 on writing and 83 on reading.

For conditional admission, nontraditional students must have a diploma or GED, meet other requirements and have a 17 ACT Composite or a 1210 SAT combined on critical reading, math and writing. As an alternative they can provide the following minimum Compass exam scores: 18 on algebra, 49 on writing and 70 on reading.

UCA previously didn't have any criteria beyond age for nontraditional students, Runge said.

Now, any applicants, traditional or nontraditional, with an ACT test subscore less than 15 or the equivalent in reading, math, science or English will not be eligible for admission.

Student enrollment at UCA has been flat.

While higher admission standards will preclude some students from attending UCA, Runge said, "The retention should ... make up for that difference."

State Desk on 05/16/2015

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