On Jan. 13, the University of Oregon hosted the Student Tuition Forum and a financial briefing for all UO students on the tuition-setting process. The university was addressing a fundamental question that night: Given inflation’s impact on fixed costs and the continued low level of state appropriations to higher education, should they raise tuition for incoming students?
Universities have two main avenues for increasing budgetary income: state or federal appropriations and student tuition. These funds are used for essentials, like paying faculty, staff and graduate employee contracts. With cuts to federal scholarship programs and higher-education affordability assistance, increasing tuition at UO would boost the inaccessibility of college.
A 2023 state appropriation analysis of public universities in the Association of American Universities ranked the University of Oregon as the second-lowest receiver of state funds out of 35 universities. Oregon ranks No. 46 nationally in four-year university per-student funding, allocating $6,200 per student with the average being $10,820…