The Board of Regents at Southeast announced a 2.8 percent tuition and fee increase today effective this coming fall semester, according to a news release from Southeast.

This will cause the price of courses to rise by $6.50 per credit hour for undergraduate Missouri resident students. According to the university website, tuition per credit hour for the 2016-2017 academic year was $199.30.

All students will see a 2.8 percent increase, including regional campuses and online students, according to the news release.

Non-resident undergraduate students' tuition per credit hour was $378.80 for the 2016-2017 academic year and will be raised to $424 starting in fall 2017 and online-only undergraduate tuition will increase to $272.25. Non-resident graduate students’ tuition per credit hour will be raised to $537.75 and online-only graduate students will see a raise of tuition to $334 per hour. Regional campuses will see an increase of $10 per credit hour, making each credit hour $170.

According to the Southeast news release, this will bring in $1.34 million to the university helping to balance the FY18 budget; however, $4.05 million still has to be found in reductions to balance budget.

The tuition increase is a result of state budget cuts announced by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in January. Dr. Carlos Vargas, president of Southeast, told the Board of Regents the increase in tuition was necessary, according to the Southeast news release.

“Southeast has always been committed to access and affordability, and, even in times of reduced state support, that is a guiding principle that we still adhere to,” said Vargas.

The budget cuts from the state withheld $3.43 in base funding and $101,044 from the Cybersecurity Training Program.

"Those of you who have been at Southeast over the past decade know that we have dealt with tough budget challenges in the past," Vargas wrote in an email response after the budget cuts were announced. "In the spirit of collegiality, we have worked cooperatively to make decisions for the larger benefit of the institution. Difficult decisions will again need to be made over the next several months."

The Board of Regents was allowed to make this decision based on Senate Bill 389, according to the Southeast news release. The decision also was endorsed by Student Government, according to the news release.