Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students:
Today our University Planning Committee met, and I was able to share general details related to the A-State budget proposal that I will be presenting to the Arkansas State University System Board of Trustees on Thursday morning. The proposed budget will include a request to increase combined tuition and fees 3.4 percent (recall that we did not increase tuition last year). This tuition and fee increase maintains our position as sixth in total cost of attendance compared with the state’s other nine four-year public universities. We will also request very small increases to the rates of meal plans and our residence halls.
One important message I want to convey is that compared to last year, we are in a much better position on our overall budget. As such, I will also be requesting modest merit increases in salary for members of the faculty and staff. I want to commend our faculty leadership, administration, and budget office staff for their work in compiling our proposal, more of which will be revealed in proposals to our Board of Trustees Thursday.
Thank you for what you do for Arkansas State.