JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Southern State University is facing a $1.1 million state penalty after raising its tuition rates by 15 percent next year.
The Joplin university’s tuition and fees are slated to increase by $900 to nearly $7,000 during the upcoming school year.
University President Alan Marble says the tuition hike is intended to make up for state funding cuts. The university’s state appropriations fell from $26 million in 2010 to slightly more than $22 million this year.
Missouri law says institutions must return part of state funding if tuition is raised more than the Consumer Price Index, which ranges between 1 percent to just over 2 percent in recent years.
Marble has requested a one-year waiver from the state’s Higher Education Department in an effort to avoid the penalty. The waiver is under consideration.