Though tuition climbed to $130 this semester, Missouri Southern has the lowest tuition in the state, but several costs play a part in tuition changes.

“Anytime that state appropriations go down as they did between 2001 and 2004, the institutions are forced to pass some of that cost on to the students,” said University President Julio León. “Obviously, everybody tries to save as much as possible.”

León said the University cut back on travel and purchasing equipment.

“We didn’t fill many positions that were still open but we still had to increase tuition,” he said. “They’re not being filled on a permanent basis.

“They may be filled with temporary, part-time positions, but they do not cost as much to fill. We are still feeling the effect.”

While tuition here is relatively inexpensive, students say they still feel the pinch.

Robyn Taylor, junior Spanish major, said she pays for all of her tuition and thinks the tuition is high.

“I don’t have financial help and too many expenses on the side,” she said.

Billy Henson, freshman criminal justice major, agrees and helps pay for his tuition.

“They don’t give big enough loans,” he said.

Shane Housh, freshman biology and pre-physical therapy major, has scholarships from the University.

“If they’re paying for it, it’s fine,” he said.

León believes tuition will continue to go up.

“It just depends on what rate of increase we are going to have,” he said. “To a great extent, the size of the increases is going to depend on the kind of support we receive from the state.”

León said if they receive good increases in appropriations, tuition increases are going to be moderate or remain the same.

“We are going to continue to work hard to be as sufficient as possible, but the cost of everything goes up and nothing ever goes down,” he said.

Leon said at the same time the University had cuts in state appropriations, it was experiencing large increases in areas such as utilities, healthcare and benefits like retirement costs.

“When you have those and then your main source of revenue is going down,” he said, “then you have to make it up somewhat. You cut some as you have to but still that is not enough.”

León said in the first year of Gov. Matt Blunt’s administration, he kept state appropriations level and in the second year increased them by 2 percent.

“That’s good,” he said. “Obviously, when that happened Missouri Southern actually cut tuition and then we have now increased it by minimum equal to the rate of inflation.”

León believes the fiscal condition of the state has improved.

“It’s likely that we will begin to see some increases in state appropriations although not very large,” he said.

In the last two years, the University has cut tuition, kept it level, cut it again and increased it.

“When you put all three of those together it amounts to 5 percent,” León said. “That’s in keeping with our desire to maintain tuition as low as possible.”

In a tuition level follow-up audit report from the state auditor’s office, the tuition and fees are listed for all Missouri colleges and universities.

“Missouri Southern is the only institution where you can still attend for less than $4,000 whereas the average of $5,800-plus for all institutions, which is a significant savings,” León said. “When you add on top of that this institution can save a student about anywhere between $500 to $800 a year just on textbooks because of the rental system, that adds up.”

León said on top of tuition and textbook costs, Southern provides more financial aid than the state provides. He said he compares the tuition costs to a car dealership.

“You seldom pay the sticker price because there are discounts,” he said. “Except in higher education we would call those discounts scholarships and grants,” he said. “The sticker price at Missouri Southern is the lowest in the state of Missouri.”

León said for 40 years, Southern has been doing textbook rentals.

“(It) is one of the reasons why we have one of the most reasonable and one of the best values in higher education,” he said, “and there is no reason to change it.”