Auburn University Board of Trustees approved a 3% tuition and fees increase beginning in the fall 2023 semester on Friday.
The board also approved a 4% tuition and fees increase beginning in the fall 2023 semester for Auburn’s Montgomery campus.
According to U.S. News and World Report, in-state tuition and fees at Auburn University are $11,826 for the 2022-2023 academic year. A 3% increase for the 2023-2024 academic year will put tuition at $12,180.78.
“We’ve typically done tuition increases in the 2-3% range,” Kelli Shomaker, chief financial officer and vice president for Business and Finance, told The Auburn Plainsman last year. “Coming out of the recession of 2008 and 2009 we actually had 8-and-12% increases, but getting funds from the state is helping us as well.”
According to an Auburn University press release, the tuition and fees increases were passed after the board approved the university’s “largest budget to date—$1.593 billion—for fiscal year 2023.” Fiscal year 2023 begins on October 1, 2022, and ends on September 30, 2023.
“The new budget, which begins Oct. 1, increased by $64.2 million, or 4.20%, from fiscal year 2021,” Amy Weaver, an Auburn University communications specialist, said. “That includes a 5% merit pool, funds for the recruitment of high-caliber faculty, funds to provide staff with market-competitive salaries, job family and faculty promotions and other salary adjustments, as well as employee benefits.”
Dr. James Purcell, executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE), said at a recent ACHE meeting that “the cost of college based on tuition, fees, and state support in Alabama is 28% higher than the national average.”
“We need to address this as institutions,” Purcell said. “I’d say we should not increase tuition for a long time. The Legislature is going to give you six percent or so probably this year (and) gave you six percent last year. I’d suggest that the Legislature actually say the state money is contingent on the fact that you stabilize the cost so that college can be affordable for every Alabamian … not just those that have a 3.5 G.P.A.”
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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