MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) - State education officials have approved a 4.5 percent tuition increase at Northwest Missouri State University.
The state's Department of Higher Education had to approve the increase because it exceeds the allowable increase by 1.8 percentage points. State law requires public institutions to limit tuition increases to the consumer price index or risk forfeiting some of its state aid.
The St. Joseph News-Press reports Wednesday that state money accounts for about half of Northwest's revenue.
Higher education commissioner David Russell says he approved the increase because it is only 0.2 percent above the CPI change in the last three years, while state appropriations dropped 10.9 percent in the same period.
With the increase, Northwest's in-state students will pay about $295 more per year, based on 28 credit hours.
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Information from: St. Joseph News-Press, http://www.stjoenews-press.com