Tuition increases are needed to maintain quality until the state starts to pick up a larger percentage of the tab, Johnson said.

"There's not an institution here that wants to ask for any more of a tuition increase than they have to," he said. "The goal we all have is to provide a quality product to students at an affordable cost."

Higher tuition is more than just numbers on paper for students who have to pay it. College tuition costs rose an average of 8.6 percent this year.

"How is someone supposed to complete school when they receive hikes every single year, forcing them to choose between work and school?" said University of Central Oklahoma student Jonathan Vestal.

Higher tuition costs mean the Yukon native and criminal justice student will continue to work full time at an insurance company to put himself through school. He can only afford to take six credit hours each semester.

"I needed electricity more than I needed my biochemistry lab, so I cut back on school to accommodate," he said.

State Regent Jimmy Harrel, a banker from Leedey, was the lone regent to vote against tuition increases last year and this year.

"It's a real problem," said Harrel, a former school principal and agriculture teacher. "Tuition has gone up 70 percent in the last five years."

Higher education officials got $130 million more in appropriations last year, but tuition still went up an average of 5.2 percent.

"We keep raising tuition no matter how they (lawmakers) treat us," he said. "Some of the smaller colleges honestly need more (but) some of them tend to be greedy and want every part of the (state) budget."

Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com

- Associated Press


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