Members of the Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees approved a 2010-11 fiscal year operating budget of $101.1 million for the Russellville campus during their monthly meeting at the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center on Thursday.
Included in the budget is a 2 percent increase in the base tuition rate for students on the Russellville campus. Undergraduate students paid $167 per student semester credit hour (SSCH) in 2009-10. That figure will increase to $170 per SSCH in 2010-11.
Tuition rates for graduate students will increase from $191 per SSCH to $195 per SSCH. The board also approved an increase in student fees that will amount to $102 per semester for a full-time student. In all, a full-time student on the Russellville campus will pay $147 more per semester to attend Arkansas Tech in 2010-11 than he or she did in 2009-10. “It is with great reluctance that we approach our Board of Trustees asking for an increase in tuition and fees,” said Dr. Robert C. Brown, Arkansas Tech president. “However, Tech receives considerably less in state appropriations per student than the other state universities, we experienced a significant budget cut this year, our faculty has not had a raise in more than a year and the costs of technology and health insurance continue to rise unabated. These factors make such a request inevitable.” Brown cited the fact that Arkansas Tech receives $4,142 per full-time equivalent student in state appropriations. Meanwhile, the other four universities that rank among the five largest in Arkansas — the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock — receive an average of $6,492 per full-time equivalent student from the state. “We are dedicated to providing our students with high-quality academic programs and good value for their educational dollar,” said Brown. “We operate accredited programs in disciplines such as engineering, emergency management, health information systems and computer science. These are not inexpensive programs to operate, but they are programs that will generate employment opportunities for our students and increase economic opportunities for our state.” In all, individual degree programs at Arkansas Tech University hold accreditations from 11 national and international agencies. Every degree program at Arkansas Tech that is eligible for accreditation has either already achieved that distinction or is in the process of becoming accredited. Faculty and unclassified staff at Arkansas Tech will receive a 2 percent pay increase during the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1. The total operating budget for Arkansas Tech University in 2010-11, including its campus in Ozark, will be $106.4 million. Tuition at Arkansas Tech-Ozark Campus will increase from $64 per SSCH to $70 per SSCH. The board considered two additional items concerning Arkansas Tech-Ozark Campus: *AMR Architects Inc. of Little Rock was selected as the architectural firm that will design the renovations to the Alvin F. Vest Student Union in Ozark. *A constitution and set of by-laws for the Faculty Senate of Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus was approved.
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