Henderson raises in-state tuition

Increase is $6 per hour; out-of-state rate cut $167 per hour

Henderson State University is increasing its tuition and fee rate by 2.4 percent for the 2017-18 school year.

As a part of that, the university's board voted Friday to raise the tuition rate by $6 per credit hour for in-state undergraduate students to $221 per credit hour and raise one mandatory fee for athletics by 50 cents to $17.75 per credit hour. The Arkadelphia university's president, Glen Jones, said the tuition increase is the lowest amount in more than a decade.

"Affordable tuition is an important consideration for most of the students we serve," he said in a statement. "We are committed to providing our students value for their tuition dollars, and we are investing these funds strategically to benefit them."

An in-state undergraduate student taking 15 credit hours is now paying $4,058 a semester in tuition and mandatory fees and will pay $4,155.50 a semester starting this fall.

The 3,565-student university is the third of the four-year public schools in the state to take up tuition and fees. Typically, universities raise tuition and fee rates by 3 percent to 5 percent year-to-year. Henderson and Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia have increased next year's rates by less than 3 percent.

In-state undergraduate students taking 15 hours at SAU will pay 1.83 percent more at $4,173 a semester in tuition and mandatory fees in the 2017-18 school year. SAU has 4,771 students.

The University of Central Arkansas increased its rate within the standard at 3.65 percent, and in-state undergraduates taking 15 hours will pay $4,262.10 per semester.

The University of Arkansas System will take up rates for its six universities and seven community colleges next week. Arkansas State University's trustees will meet June 8, and Arkansas Tech University's board will hold a special meeting at a to-be-determined date for 2017-18 tuition, fees and its budget.

On Friday, Henderson's trustees also decreased tuition rates for out-of-state undergraduates by $167 per credit hour. Those students were paying $443 per credit hour and will now pay $276 per credit hour, meaning they will pay $4,980.50 per semester in 2017-18 compared with the $7,478 they are currently paying in tuition and mandatory fees.

The university offers several programs that are unique in the region, including aviation, engineering and innovative media, said Tonya Smith, Henderson's executive director of the Office of Marketing and Communications.

"We are working to encourage students enroll in these -- and other -- attractive programs that are unique to Henderson State," she said. "Reducing these rates provides more opportunity for more students without impacting the rates we charge or the number of students we enroll from in state."

Only one of the 12 mandatory fees for Henderson students will increase in the next year -- the athletics fee -- because of more athletes and scholarship equivalencies, Smith said, adding that the average athletic scholarship covers less than 30 percent of a student's tuition and fees.

The Henderson board also gave the OK to a $68.3 million budget, an increase of $3.4 million, Smith said.

"The operating budget includes allocations that better align resources with strategic priorities for the state and Henderson's strategic plan," said Brett Powell, vice president for finance and administration. "Among these are aviation and engineering faculty positions and positions related to student success initiatives."

NW News on 05/20/2017

Upcoming Events