Miss. tuition to rise an average 4%

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi's eight public universities plan to raise tuition by an average of 4 percent beginning with the fall semester, saying state funding increases this year are earmarked for increasing employee raises, pensions and health insurance costs, but need more money to maintain programs. The state College Board gave final approval to tuition increases at all of the universities on April 18, waiving the need for trustees to vote on it. Universities are scheduled to get $38M more in state monies than last year. The annual budget year begins July 1. Most of the 5.6 percent increase will be spent on mandated employee increases. The statewide average for two semesters of full-time tuition and fees will rise by an average of $312 to $8,120 for in-state undergraduates. Increases range from 8.4 percent at Mississippi University for Women (MUW) to 1.9 percent at Ole Miss. "I guess I'll get another job," said Jackson State senior Larry Sykes, who is on track to graduate in December. He pays for school out of job earnings. MUW freshman Aja Hudson told the Commercial Dispatch that she relies on family. Rising college costs have far outgained family incomes. In-state tuition has risen 71 percent from 2009 to 2019. A typical Mississippi family's annual income has risen about 25 percent during that same timeframe. For students who have to obtain loans, the Institute for College Access and Success reports 58 percent of Mississippi graduates of public and private universities had debt after collecting their diplomas in 2017. A typical graduating-borrower will have incurred more than $30,000 in debt. (Source: The AP 04/19/19)