The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents decided not to raise tuition and flat fees for the second year in a row.

The new budget does have funding for faculty and staff salary increases – the first salary increase plan in Norman for the past five years.

Tuition has been the same since 2017.

“The progress this University has made in the past year is significant and our faculty and staff deserve recognition for their focus and commitment to putting students first as we have worked toward financial health,” said Interim President Joseph Harroz Jr.

“Students are the biggest winner in this year’s budget as we once again held the line on tuition and fee increases. This was achievable in part because of increased state support. To that end, we are grateful to Governor Stitt and the Legislature for investing in higher education this past session. Additionally, the financial discipline of our administration has produced savings which support our efforts to make sure the excellence of an OU education is accessible and we have the resources necessary to support student success.” said Board of Regents Chairman Leslie Rainbolt-Forbes.

Tuition and mandatory fees will remain flat because of recurring savings of $50 million at the Norman campus. Undergraduate in-state tuition remains at $159.60 per credit hour. Non-resident tuition will remain at $512.70 per credit hour.

Tuition and fees at the Health Sciences Center will increase for five professional programs, in the setting of rising healthcare costs, which were alleviated through a $9.5 million in overall savings. Tuition and mandatory fee increases require approval by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

“A great comprehensive, public research University provides excellence at a price that does not exclude the most talented students because of their economic circumstance. We continue to make new investments in need-based scholarships, notably the Crimson Commitment. OU will strive to be both excellent and affordable for in-state students by controlling costs and our tuition,” Harroz said.

The recommended OU FY20 budget is $2.02 billion and includes $983 million for the Norman campus and $1.04 billion for the HSC campus.

The new budget includes a recommendation for a 3 percent salary program on average for eligible Norman staff, as well as compensation for staff at the HSC. In addition to a 2.6 percent annualized faculty salary increase on the Norman campus from January 2019, it also incorporates support from the Legislature for an additional 2.2 percent annualized faculty salary increase on the Norman campus and an annualized increase at HSC. 

Both are proposed for October.

A recommendation to increase stipends for graduate students and a reduction of fees for research-oriented graduate programs reflects OU’s continued emphasis on growing its research activity to support Oklahoma’s economy. OU Human Resources is determining the timeline and guidelines for instigating the process.

“It is an optimistic sign that the state of Oklahoma is making new investments in higher education. The appropriations directed to higher education were stipulated for faculty salaries. Coupled with the faculty raise pool we implemented at the beginning of this year, there is significant progress toward the goal of paying competitive salaries for our talented and dedicated faculty. Attracting nationally ranked faculty is essential to secure new research funding and help the Oklahoma economy thrive,” Harroz said.

The Norman campus serves as home to all of the university’s academic programs except health-related fields.

The OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City is one of only four comprehensive academic health centers in the nation with seven professional colleges. Both the Norman and Health Sciences Center campuses offer programs at the Schusterman Center, the site of OU-Tulsa.

OU enrolls almost 32,000 students, has more than 2,800 full-time faculty members, and has 21 colleges offering 172 majors at the baccalaureate level, 156 majors at the master’s level, 81 doctoral-level majors and 54 graduate certificates.