A 3-percent tuition increase was approved for Carbondale’s campus by SIU’s Board of Trustees for fiscal year 2014.

The board’s Finance Committee originally recommended a 7-percent tuition increase for Edwardsville and 5-percent increase for Carbondale in 2014. After University President Glenn Poshard recommended the increases be lowered, the committee endorsed the approval of a 5-percent increase for both campuses. The committee also endorsed a series of student fee increases as well as an increase for medical, graduate and law school students.

Before the board voted, Poshard and student trustee David Hamilton recommended a 5-percent increase for both campuses since students have already registered for fall 2013 and the increase would probably not change their minds.

However, the board voted for only a 3-percent increase for new students at Carbondale in 2014, while the full 5 percent was approved for new students at Edwardsville campus in 2014.

Vice chair Donna Manery said the increases for the two campuses are different because the board examines each campus separately and looks at the needs they exhibit. Because the campuses are separate entities and have different projected needs, the approval of finances for each campus is unrelated to one another, she said.

Tuition increases can occur for multiple reasons and are usually tied to factors such as student retention and graduation rates, lower enrollment or state funds.

Across both campuses, the retention rate of full-time students in 2011 was 66 percent for first-year students and the graduation rate for four-year students was only 24 percent. The low retention and graduation rates created shortcomings in long-term financial stability and caused the university to have to increase tuition in order to maintain university standards, according to the Board of Trustees website.

Chancellor Rita Cheng said even at a 5-percent increase, a higher tuition would not offset a lower appropriation for the state in FY 2014 and further reorganization of the Carbondale campus might be needed to fill in the gap. According to the board’s meeting minutes, the 3-percent increase will mainly go toward maintaining the continuing operations and staffing of the institution, a contingency plan and maintenance of assets.

While a 3-percent tuition increase may be uninviting to some new students, the increase is lower than past years.

In 2009, the tuition cost was estimated to be $9,813 in-state and $20,275 out-of-state; a ten percent increase from 2008. In 2010, the tuition cost increased by about 6 percent to an estimated $10,411 for in-state tuition and $21,346 for out-of-state tuition.

Poshard said SIU’s tuition is still competitive with other state schools.

Carbondale’s tuition remains the lowest among the five Ph.D.-granting schools in Illinois, and Edwardsville’s tuition is the lowest of any of the 12 public university’s in the state, Poshard said.