University of Missouri curators are meeting Thursday in Kansas City to discuss a possible tuition increase for the 2012-13 academic year.Administrators are proposing a 7.5 percent tuition increase for Missouri residents attending the Columbia campus and even more at the St. Louis and Rolla campuses. The Kansas City campus would see a 3 percent increase.
The proposals are a response to a recommended 12.5 percent cut in state higher education funding sought by Gov. Jay Nixon. Missouri lawmakers must still approve those cuts. Some legislators say they don't support such hefty spending limits.
A tuition increase of greater than 3 percent, which is the current inflation rate, could also expose the university system to political retaliation by Nixon. The governor wants to see further reductions in universities' administrative costs.
