April 8, 2004

Schools in the University of Arkansas System report tuition increases for next year. The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville reports tuition this fall will increase 8 percent, the largest increase in seven years.

This year, a credit hour at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville costs $127. Next year it will cost $137.15. An average semester, or 15 hours of credit, costs $1,905 this year. Next year, it will cost $2,057.

The University of Arkansas estimates the tuition increase will bring in $3.5 million. That money, combined with other new money the university expects, should help pay for $1 million in fringe benefits for university employees, $747,531 for past commitments to academic affairs and approximately $216,703 in utilities. The University also expects $2.29 million will go towards salary increases for nonclassified personnel, including faculty, and $149,940 for raises for graduate teaching assistants.

Other schools in the University of Arkansas system report tuition increases of at least 5 percent.

At the University of Arkansas at Monticello, the cost of a credit hour for in-state undergraduates will increase from $90 to $95.

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith raised tuition for in-district underclassmen from $48 to $58 per credit hour. For in-state upperclassmen, a credit hour increased from $94 to $96.

At the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, in-state undergraduate tuition will increase from $94 to $100 per credit hour.

Tuition at the state's medical and law schools also increased. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences increased tuition 10 percent for in-state students of the colleges of medicine, pharmacy and nursing.

Tuition at the College of Health Related Professions will increase 5.83 percent. Tuition at the Graduate School and College of Public Health will increase a little more than 5 percent.

At the University of Arkansas Law School at Fayetteville, tuition will increase from $233 to $254 for in-state law students, and from $500 to $546 per credit hour for out-of-state law students.

Tuition at the University of Arkansas Law School in Little Rock will increase from $233 to $256 per credit hour for in-state students and from $500 to $550 for out-of-state students.

As in past years, University of Arkansas officials do not expect enrollment to decline as a result of tuition increases. Other states besides Arkansas have also experienced tuition increases in the past few years.

In other news, the new College of Public Health building at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences was dedicated last week. It consists of eight levels, six constructed on top of an existing two-story building on the UAMS campus. Money from the state's settlement with major tobacco companies paid for most of the building.

The building allows faculty and administration to have offices in the same location, instead of spread across Little Rock.

Many College of Public Health graduates become employees of the State Department of Health or other state agencies that provide health services.