The Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees approved tuition and fee changes as part of a $170.5 million balanced operating budget at ATU for the 2022-23 fiscal year during a meeting at Chambers Cafeteria West Dining Room on Thursday, June 16.
“The development of the 2022-23 budget for Arkansas Tech University was a highly collaborative process that included feedback from across the university community as we sought to deliver the greatest value possible for our students,” said Dr. Robin E. Bowen, ATU president. “The outcome is a balanced budget that accounts for increasing operational costs, maintains affordability and ensures that we have the resources necessary to deliver high-quality programs and services.”
Included in the budget is a 1.5 percent tuition and mandatory fees increase for students on the Arkansas Tech campus in Russellville. In-state undergraduate tuition will increase from $239 per student semester credit hour (SSCH) in 2021-22 to $242.50 per SSCH in 2022-23. In-state graduate and doctoral tuition will increase from $300 per SSCH in 2021-22 to $304.50 per SSCH in 2022-23.
Undergraduate and graduate mandatory fees at ATU in Russellville will increase from $78.95 per SSCH in 2021-22 to $80.23 per SSCH in 2022-23.
ATU students who take their courses in-person at Russellville will continue to be assessed non-mandatory fees for student activities (unchanged at $2.60 per SSCH), public safety ($2.38 per SSCH, an increase of 38 cents per SSCH as compared to 2021-22) and student union/recreation center ($8.60 per SSCH, an increase of $2.35 per SSCH as compared to 2021-22).
In-state tuition on the Ozark campus of ATU will increase 1.5 percent from $132 per SSCH in 2021-22 to $134 per SSCH in 2022-23. Mandatory fees at ATU-Ozark Campus will remain unchanged as compared to 2021-22 at $56 per SSCH.
ATU students on the Russellville and Ozark campuses who are not residents of Arkansas and do not qualify for an out-of-state tuition waiver will continue to be charged a tuition rate that is two times the rate for in-state students.
The ATU fiscal year 2022-23 budget includes a 2 percent cost of living adjustment pay increase for faculty, non-classified staff and classified staff.
Dr. Robin E. Bowen, ATU president, offered to the board that she would prefer to be excluded from the cost of living adjustment. Trustees expressed appreciation for her offer but included her in the raise nonetheless and extended her contract by an additional year through the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year.