Eastern Oregon University鈥檚 Board of Trustees Thursday approved a 4.9% tuition increase for undergraduate students for the upcoming academic year.
EOU is the last public university in Oregon to decide on tuition this year. It follows in the footsteps of the six other universities that have all recommended increases.
However, even with the tuition increase, and an estimated boost in enrollment, Eastern officials are still anticipating a budget deficit of at least $2 million.
EOU鈥檚 Vice President of Finance, Lara Moore, said the university made certain decisions it knew would contribute to that operating deficit 鈥� .
鈥淥ur tuition proposal recognizes that,鈥� Moore said Thursday. 鈥淚t recognizes that we are in an operating deficit. It recognizes the inflationary pressures that we are under as an institution, because we do want to maintain our financial stability.鈥�
Moore stressed that even with the tuition increase, affordability is an important principle to the university. According to EOU board documents, Eastern is still Oregon鈥檚 cheapest public university by credit hour for in-state students even with this increase.
Undergraduate in-state students are paying a little over $7,800 in tuition this school year if they鈥檙e taking 15 credits per term in a regular three-term year. They鈥檒l pay roughly $380 more starting next school year 鈥� or about $8,200 in annual tuition. Students from Washington and Idaho can also get in-state tuition at Eastern.
Undergraduate out-of-state students are currently paying about $20,500 annually, based on that same 15-credit load. They will see an annual increase of about $1,000 鈥� up to $21,500 in annual tuition.
Tuition prices also vary for students in the , or WUE 鈥� students who come from a number of states near Oregon, like California and Nevada. Rates also vary for students solely taking classes online.
Eastern is Oregon鈥檚 smallest public university and like nearly every other public university in the state, it got a little smaller during the pandemic. Only Oregon State University has avoided a decrease in enrollment this past fall compared with numbers before the pandemic, Officials at the small university in La Grande are reporting an 8% decrease in enrolled students from 2019 to fall 2021 鈥� a trend they say is critical to address.
鈥淭he real key to everything really is enrollment. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to live and die on is enrollment,鈥� EOU Trustee Brad Stephens said at the board鈥檚 meeting Thursday.
All of the public universities are instituting tuition increases for the upcoming academic year of anywhere from around 3% to 5% for in-state undergraduate students.
Rate at which tuition is climbing
This chart reflects tuition paid by entering students. Some universities keep tuition fixed based on the year students enroll and others raise tuition for all students each year.
Some universities like the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, have cohort-style tuition rates which differ depending on whether a student is new to the university or continuing. Both UO and OSU are charging new in-state undergraduate students 4.5% more than current tuition rates.
University officials who aren鈥檛 facing the direct threat of lowered student enrollment have cited rising inflation costs as a reason for the increases.
Still, all of the universities have committed to staying under 5% increases. If they go over that amount, they have to seek outside approval from the state鈥檚 Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Getting approved for a higher tuition increase is not guaranteed, as .
The Oregon Institute of Technology was , but , after a funding adjustment in their favor.
Oregon public university tuition
This chart reflects tuition paid by entering students. Some universities keep tuition fixed based on the year students enroll and others raise tuition for all students each year.
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