The tuition costs for resident undergraduate students at the University of Wyoming will not change for the third consecutive year.
In approving tuition rates today (Friday) for the 2009-10 academic year, the UW Board of Trustees voted increases of about 5 percent for non-resident undergraduates, resident and non-resident graduate students and law and pharmacy students but did not alter the resident undergraduate cost of $2,820 per year.
While UW has received "tremendous support from the governor and the legislature in recent years," Vice President for Administration Phill Harris told trustees that tuition increases were necessary to help mitigate operating budgets that are met with tuition, such as postage and telephone costs and office supplies and equipment.
"The University of Wyoming has received some legislative support for instructional excellence funding to address a backlog of needs for classroom and laboratory equipment and supplies," Harris reported. "However, regular tuition adjustments to fund operating and academic support budgets provide an opportunity for the institution to plan for the annual adjustments needed to keep pace with increasing costs experienced by all institutions of higher education."
Still, UW's resident undergraduate tuition and fees are the lowest among the 25 institutions in the Western Undergraduate Exchange program. The average UW student paid $3,621 for tuition and fees for the 2008-09 academic year, $824 less than Utah State University, the No. 24 school on the list.
UW's resident undergraduate tuition will remain at $94 per credit hour for the 2009-10 academic year.
Non-resident undergraduate students will see an increase of 4.98 percent for 2009-10, with the hourly rate jumping from $341 to $358 for a total annual cost of $10,740.
Tuition for all graduate students will increase in 2009-10. Resident tuition will jump 5.17 percent to $3,294 per year ($183 per hour). Non-resident tuition will be $9,414 per year ($523 per hour), an increase of 5.02 percent.
Trustees also approved tuition increases of just less than 5 percent for all students in the UW College of Law and School of Pharmacy.
Resident law students will pay $302 per hour for a total annual cost of $9,060, a 4.86 percent increase. Non-resident law students will see a 4.97 increase to $20,250 per year and $675 per hour.
Even with the increase, UW remains in the first percentile of national law schools for tuition and fees, according to a survey developed by the Office of Institutional Analysis and presented to the trustees.
The tuition rate for resident pharmacy students will increase by 4.96 percent to $10,450 per year, or $275 per hour. Non-resident pharmacy students will pay $615 per hour and $23,370 annually, a 4.94 percent spike.
UW's tuition for pharmacy students, however, remains among the most affordable in the western United States, according to a survey conducted by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
UW's resident tuition is the lowest for pharmacy schools in a 10-state region that includes Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Washington. In that same region, only South Dakota State University has a lower non-resident tuition than UW.
Academic year costs are based on 30 credit hours for undergraduate and law students, 18 credit hours for graduate students and 38 credit hours for pharmacy students.
Posted on Friday, January 23, 2009
