Tuition at the University of Oklahoma (OU) is going up. Hey, university president salaries don’t pay for themselves.
The OU Board of Regents has voted to raise tuition for the fifth consecutive year. It’s practically a tradition now, like tailgating before a Sooners football game. Most undergrads and grad students will see a 3% increase.
OU President Joseph Harroz, who the Board of Regents also gave a $75,000 salary increase and $200,000 bonus, said the average cost for a freshman resident is actually less than it was six years ago. This, he explained, is due to the university generously doling out more need-based aid and scholarships.
Yet Harroz said the extra cash through the tuition hike will help recruit faculty (who probably need a raise to afford OU tuition for their own kids), expand study-abroad options and address “critical deferred maintenance projects.” Meanwhile, Gov. Kevin Stitt said his “gut feeling” was that a tuition increase wasn’t necessary, believing universities haven’t squeezed out “all of the efficiency.”
This article appears in City crowned.