Tuition Increases

PURPOSE: This rule establishes the process by which public institutions of higher education in Missouri will demonstrate compliance, or seek a penalty waiver for noncompliance, with limits on annual tuition increases in accordance with the Higher Education Student Funding Act, sections 173.1000173.1003, RSMo. (1) Definitions. (A) Academic year means the fall and spring semesters between August 1 and July 31 of one (1) three hundred sixty-five- (365-) day period. (B) CBHE means the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. (C) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Higher Education. (D) Course fees means those fees in addition to tuition charged to full-time undergraduate students for enrollment in specific courses, excluding student approved fees and required fees. (E) Differential tuition or differentiated tuition means a system of charging tuition in which Missouri resident undergraduate students enrolled full-time in certain undergraduate degree programs designated by the institution are charged tuition at additional rates or amounts greater than what is charged to each Missouri resident undergraduate student for courses required for that degree program. The additional rates or amounts of tuition in a differentiated tuition system must be based on enrollment in the designated degree program and not based on enrollment in specific courses. (F) Elective means a course or class taken by a student which does not satisfy any required component of a degree program, including required general education courses, for which an institution is charging differentiated tuition. (G) Student approved fee means any fee the amount of which has been approved by a majority of students who vote in a campuswide election or by a majority of members of an officially recognized student government organization popularly elected by the students of an institution or a campus within a multicampus system. (H) Included institution means all institutions that offer four- (4-) year degree programs, State Technical College, and any community college that charges out-of-district Missouri residents tuition that is equal to or exceeds the average tuition. (I) Institution means an approved public institution of higher education, as defined in section 173.1102, RSMo. An institution that is comprised of more than one (1) campus at which the same level of degree is offered shall constitute one (1) institution for purposes of this rule. (J) MDHEWD means the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. (K) Notice of tuition change means written documentation in a format prescribed by MDHEWD, the accuracy of which is attested by the institution’s president or chancellor, indicating the tuition for the current academic year, the tuition for the upcoming academic year, and the percentage change between the two (2). (L) Required fees means those fees charged to all full-time undergraduate students and excludes course fees and any student approved fee established after August 27, 2007. (M) Tuition means the dollar amount an institution charges each Missouri resident undergraduate student enrolled in thirty (30) credit hours plus the required fees for the academic year. In the community college context, “tuition” means out-of-taxing-district Missouri resident tuition plus the required fees for the academic year. (2) Notice of Tuition Increases. (A) By July 1 of each year, beginning July 1, 2022, each included institution must submit its notice of tuition change to the CBHE, via MDHEWD. If the notice of tuition change is discovered to be inaccurate or becomes inaccurate due to changes in underlying data or assumptions, the institution shall notify MDHEWD immediately and submit a corrected notice of tuition change as soon as practicable. (B) Any institution that imposes a mid-year tuition increase and/or switches to differential tuition mid-year must provide a notice of tuition change reflecting the increase as soon as it is practically possible to do so. (3) Differentiated Tuition. (A) An institution may utilize differentiated tuition. An institution that is comprised of more than one (1) campus at which the same level of degree is offered may decide to use differentiated tuition at all of its campuses or only at designated campuses. (B) If an institution decides to utilize differentiated tuition, it must notify MDHEWD of that decision no later than thirty (30) days before the differentiated tuition is implemented. An institution that is comprised of more than one (1) campus at which the same level of degree is offered must provide such notification to MDHEWD for each campus at which differentiated tuition is to be implemented. (C) When charging differentiated tuition, an institution must discontinue charging course fees for courses taken towards the degree program for which the institution is charging differentiated tuition. Institutions may continue charging course fees for electives. Course fees can be charged until differentiated tuition is implemented and an institution may collect any course fees that were charged prior to implementation of differentiated tuition. AUTHORITY: section 173.1000, RSMo 2016, and section 173.1003, RSMo Supp. 2021.* Original rule filed April 30, 2019, effective Oct. 30, 2019. Amended: Filed Sept. 24, 2021, effective March 30, 2022. *Original authority: 173.1000, RSMo 2007, and 173.1003, RSMo 2007, amended 2018, 2021.