By AP/KWMU
St. Louis – The University of Missouri Board of Curators Thursday voted to raise tuition at each of its four campuses.
The curators approved a 7.5 percent increase for in-state undergraduate and graduate students.
Board members say they had little choice but to impose the increase because they do not expect the state of Missouri to increase funding next year above current levels.
Curator Don Walsworth acknowledged the raise was painful but necessary.
"I'm not proud of this," Walsworth said. "I'm not pleased that I'm going to vote for this today. I'm really not. But the fact remains that until we can sit down and make a comprehensive plan of how we can do better with less, because we're not going to get any more money from the state. That's just the way it is."
The increase takes effect in the upcoming summer semester.
The $14.60 per-credit-hour fee hike would mean an in-state student taking a full load of 30 credit hours would have to pay an extra $438 per semester.