HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The cost to attend Marshall University will increase for students this fall. The Marshall Board of Governors approved an increase in tuition and fees Wednesday as part of the university’s new budget.
“It’s a modest increase,” said Marshall Chief of Staff Matt Turner. “The budget has been a lot of going back, scraping, and seeing where we can make reductions and not fill positions. Inevitably, to balance the budget we still have a shortfall and have to make that up through a tuition increase.”
The increase will amount to $155 for in-state students and $290 for out-of-state students.
“West Virginia higher education is still a wonderful value and especially Marshall is,” Turner said. “We’re going to continue to look for ways to keep it that way.”
Turner said the need for the increase resulted from a continuing decline in state appropriations for higher education. The cost in the last two years has been the equivalent of $900 per in-state student. Turner said any program addictions made have been aimed at revenue generating programs.
“The real hit has come in a reduction in state appropriations,” Turner said. “In a sense what we’re doing is shifting the tax burdens to students and their parents.”
The budget will face approval of the Higher Education Policy Commission, but the increase falls within a threshold allowed for the Board of Governors to act.