Students at Marshall University will be paying more for tuition this fall if the Higher Education Policy Commission approves the increases Marshall’s Board of Governors signed off on Thursday.
The vote to raise tuition was unanimous.
Outgoing Marshall Student Body President Ray Harrell, Jr. sits on the BOG and told MetroNews there was no other viable choice.
“Nobody here wants to raise tuition. I know the board doesn’t want to, the Administration doesn’t want to and, certainly, the 14,000 students that I represent don’t want their tuition increased,” Harrell, Jr. said after the vote.
“The fact of the matter is, the board’s hand has been forced by the cuts from the Legislature and, when you lose revenue from one source, it has to be gained from another source.”
State appropriations for Marshall will likely be $5.11 million lower during the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
If the increases are approved, resident students at Marshall would pay $140 more a semester, a 4.82 percent increase; non-residents would pay $255 more a semester, a rise of 3.7 percent; and metro students would see a $305 increase or 6.02 percent.
Pharmacy students would pay new fees, while the School of Medicine would be exempt from the increases.
According to reports, the fee for Marshall University’s Recreation Center will be raised to $199 a semester.