SALT LAKE CITY — After seeking no increases in tuition and fees for on-campus students for the coming academic year, Southern Utah University will ask the board of regents on Friday for the OK to cut tuition for online-only undergraduate programs by nearly 23%.
For online-only graduate programs, the proposal would translate to a nearly 12% reduction in costs.
The proposed tuition schedule would apply to students who enroll in online-only programs at SUU and would be effective spring semester 2020.
SUU President Scott Wyatt said he reviewed 40 years of regents records on tuition changes for all state colleges and universities, and "I don't think that this has ever occurred. I don't recall it ever occurring."
The goal is to make online programs more affordable for students, many of whom are working adults and are unable to attend classes in person because they work, have family responsibilities or live far from campus. Some are students who attended SUU for a couple of years but want to complete their degrees after they have moved out of the area with a spouse.
Others are enrolled in graduate programs but work full time or cannot attend classes on campus during business hours.
"This is part of an overall strategy to increase the number of degrees and decrease the cost with the hope we can reach one of our leading goals," he said, which is to help students complete their degrees.
Ninety-four percent of SUU's online-only students take an average of seven credits. That means they pay more per credit hour than students who benefit from plateau tuition, meaning they are assessed the same undergraduate tuition and fees within a set range of credits. For example, the institution charges the same tuition and fees whether a student takes 12 or 15 credits.
All state colleges and universities, except the University of Utah, offer plateau tuition, which encourages students to take heavier class loads and complete their undergraduate degrees sooner and at less cost.
"We're expanding online to help people finish, and we're pricing it appropriately," Wyatt said.
Student enrolled in online-only undergraduate programs would be assessed tuition at rate of $300 per credit, compared to $389 for tuition and fees, under the proposal.
Depending on the graduate program, tuition will be between $355 and $485 per credit, reduced from $393 and $555 in tuition and fees, respectively.
"This makes it super affordable for them," Wyatt said.
Wyatt said consolidating online-only tuition and fees — and reducing them — clarifies for students how much they will need to spend to complete an online degree.
"We think that's more reflective of what our costs is. So right now, because of this plateau, we're probably making more money off the online students and then that money subsidizes the face-to-face students. We actually don't think that's fair," he said.
Asked how SUU can hold the line on tuition and fees for on-campus learners and cut online tuition, Wyatt said its a function of the university's growth the past four years and growing into economies of scale.
"As we have grown, we have been able to spend an increasingly smaller amount of money per student on administration and putting the money into teaching," he said.
University officials have spent "a ton of time" crunching numbers to determine "costs for that and how can we charge students appropriately for what it is that they're doing."
"Most schools are make money on online students and use that to subsidize their face-to-face students. That means that we are charging students who in some cases having the hardest time financially," Wyatt said.
SUU offers 14 master's degrees and seven bachelor's degrees online. About 9% of all SUU students attend online exclusively, Wyatt said.
The university's online bachelor-degree programs are in nursing, elementary education, communications, business management, accounting, general studies and interdisciplinary studies.
"In making this change, SUU ensures that every student will have lower tuition, regardless of credit load," a Utah System of Higher Education memo states.
The board of regents is scheduled to hear and act on the request Friday during its August meeting on the SUU campus.