The College Board released a report Thursday showing Missouri had the smallest increase in tuition and fees at public four-year institutions in the U.S.
Missouri touts a five percent increase since 2008, while Georgia led all other states with a nation-worst 65 percent increase. Department of Higher Education Deputy Commissioner Leroy Wade says tuition hikes have remained low in Missouri to keep higher education available to anyone.
“The goal certainly is to maintain affordability so that students that are interested and capable within higher education don’t find financing to be an insurmountable obstacle,” said Wade.
Governor Jay Nixon’s Press Secretary Scott Holste says keeping tuition low fits into the governor’s plan to create a more educated workplace in the state.
“The governor has set a goal of, by the year 2020, having 60 percent of the adult population having a higher education certificate or degree of some sort,” said Holste.
Missouri is one of only three states in the nation that had less than a 10 percent increase in tuition over the last five years.