Shepherd proposes no increase for in-state tuition to HEPC

ISSUED: 26 April 2010
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
(Shepherd proposes no increase for in-state tuition to HEPC)

Shepherdstown, WV--Shepherd University proposes no in-state tuition increase and a $236 increase per semester for out-of-state students for the 2010-11 academic year.

The tuition proposal acts on the option provided to President Suzanne Shipley by Shepherd's Board of Governors regarding the establishment of next year's tuition rates. At the board's April 8 meeting, increases of 3.7 percent for in-state students and four percent for out-of-state students were approved, but the board provided Shipley the latitude to adjust the figures downward.

"We have listened to what our students, prospective students, and their families have requested--that Shepherd find a way to limit tuition increases yet still maintain its instructional quality," said President Shipley about the decision to not raise tuition for in-state students. "We are doing this by implementing a series of cost efficiency measures in other operational areas." The out-of-state increase of 3.5 percent keeps up with inflationary rates established by the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI).

Governor Joe Manchin requested in both his "State of the State" address in February and in subsequent conversations that university presidents hold the line on tuition rates for 2010-11.

Shepherd University receives 20 percent of its operational budget from the state of West Virginia. Student tuition funds 30 percent of its budget while the remaining 50 percent comes from auxiliary enterprises (29 percent), federal and state grants and contracts (16 percent), and gifts and other revenue (five percent).

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission will finalize tuition recommendations at its upcoming meeting.

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