MU tuition increase

The Board of Curators for the University of Missouri system have approved a 2.3 percent tuition increase effective with the fall semester. While structured as an offset to the annual rate of inflation, though, that increase will fall considerably short of where the system stood financially before Gov. Mike Parson ordered spending cuts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring.

The increase, which will bring in an additional $14.8 million, is just part of the revenue adjustments curators are exploring to generate revenue. As approved, the curators are requesting $3.37 billion for the academic year, funding that would cover the four MU system campuses in Columbia, Kansas City, St. Louis and Rolla. The biggest chunk of that would come from patient revenues through university health-care providers, $1.4 billion. Tuition would generate $583 million, and the state would provide $420 million in legislative appropriations.

“With this small increase, the UM universities remain among the lowest in tuition increases throughout the country,” said Mun Choi, the system president and interim chancellor for the MU campus.

Curators are also weighing a change in the system’s tuition model, including a cap on total tuition per semester, rather than charging by the credit hour.