RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas Tech University (ATU) leaders have announced tuition and mandatory fees at the university will stay the same for the 2024-2025 school year.
The ATU Board of Trustees approved a proposal on Thursday, April 18, that will keep in-state, undergraduate tuition at $249.78 per student semester credit hour and in-state, graduate tuition at $314.50 per student semester credit hour.
Undergraduate and graduate mandatory fees at ATU will remain $82.63 per student semester credit hour. There will be no increase in residence hall rates for on-campus Arkansas Tech students.
ATU Director of University Relations Sam Strasner said this decision was made to keep education accessible for students.
“Arkansas Tech University has been around since 1909, and it has historically been a place of opportunity for the people of Arkansas,” Strasner said.
He added that 93% of ATU students come from in-state, and the university is in the top 10% in the nation in social mobility.
“That means you can kind of start at Point A, and whatever your Point B is, wherever you're trying to get in life, Arkansas Tech University is in the top 10% of all American universities and colleges in helping make that transformation,” Strasner said. “Being able to make tuition and mandatory fees as affordable as possible [is] a really big part of that.”
Strasner said the decision was based on the university's goal of providing a quality education for an affordable price.
“You want to maintain that quality, but then you've also got to balance that against affordability,” Strasner said. “[ATU] made the decision to just be able to focus all of our attention, all of our energy on maintaining that affordability part, with the knowledge that with the excellence of our faculty and our staff and just the human beings that come to Arkansas Tech every day, we feel like we can really hang on to the quality side that way.”
State-assisted universities like ATU are primarily funded by a combination of state funding, tuition and fees.
When it comes to budgeting and keeping costs down for students and families, Strasner said the Board of Trustees is also looking at ways to make its facilities more energy-efficient and keep utility costs down for the university.
This comes as college tuition is on the rise at many universities.
According to College Tuition Compare, which compiled tuition costs from a nationwide database, college tuition has risen in schools across the country, with increases ranging from 2% to as much as 21%.
The site lists the University of Arkansas as having a tuition increase of 11.2% over the past five years.
It also shows the University of Central Arkansas’ tuition at a 7.8% increase, the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith’s at a 5.7% increase and Henderson State University’s at a 6% decrease, all over the past five years.
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