The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education voted Wednesday, to increase tuition and fees for seven of the state’s 27 institutions, including Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.
SWOSU students can expect to see a 3-percent increase, which averages out to a $7.25-increase per undergraduate credit hour. Other regional universities such as Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Langston University also requested similar increases.
Across the state, full-time college students will on average pay $79 more for tuition and fees, starting next semester.
SWOSU President Randy Beutler requested the 3-percent increase after he presented the university’s budget, which showed a decrease of $1.2 million for the 2020-21 school year. The decrease is a result of reduced federal funding as well as a 3.95-percent higher education budget cut from the state legislature last year.
The reduced budget along with the impact of COVID-19 shutting down the campus this year has resulted in SWOSU enacting a temporary hiring freeze according to Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing Brian Adler.
“We are not currently hiring or filling any positions,” Adler said.
For now, the budget challenges only have affected personnel acquisition and SWOSU administration does not currently foresee any cuts to other parts of the institution.
“I am not aware of any potential cuts to specific departments or campus programs. That includes the SWOSU Panorama series,” Adler said.