The board of trustees voted to increase tuition by $11 per credit hour June 9. The hike of about 4.5 percent will be implemented fall 2014.

The increase came after trustees discussed retention of current students and enrollment of new students.

“Any increase is always too much,” said trustee Marty Abroms. “This is always the hardest decision because it determines what our students write a check for.”

The original resolution named an increase of $13 per credit hour, upon recommendation by President Emeritus William Cale; however, Abroms said he wanted to see the increase stay at $10.

It was agreed upon by the board that university faculty and staff members could be given a pay increase of 3 percent if tuition was raised by $11.

An increase will not be determined until the university budget is designed in September. 

This would be the first real increase in faculty pay since 2007, Cale said.

University employees were given a 5 percent raise in 2007 and received a one-time bonus of $725 last year.

“We tried to do what we could on a challenging budget,” Abroms said. “Our whole goal is to see that faculty get a pay raise.”

Faculty and staff senate presidents Scott Infanger and Melissa Thornton petitioned the board for an increase on behalf of university employees.

“Morale is low because they haven’t seen a raise since 2007,” Thornton said. “They feel as if the board doesn’t value them.”