Going up? MSU Texas proposes funding pay raises with a tuition increase
President Haynie speaks to student senators about faculty and proposed tuition changes on campus, Oct. 22, 2024. George Svoboda/The Wichitan
How much is the proposed tuition increase?
George Svoboda
Editor-in-chief, The Wichitan
Editor's note: A version of this story was published online in The Wichitan, the student news site for Midwestern State University.
MSU Texas is seeking tuition increases for some new and all future students to fund campus-wide pay raises.
President Stacia Haynie will propose the increase at the next Texas Tech Board of Regents meeting taking place Thursday and Friday in Lubbock.
This is the university's first tuition increase in four years. Midwestern State University is maintaining its focus on student and staff recruitment and retention just over halfway through the fall semester.
Who might pay more at MSU Texas?
The proposed 3.4% tuition increase will affect two groups: incoming fall 2024 students who did not opt in to fix their tuition and new students beginning in spring 2025, going forward into future semesters.
Current sophomores, juniors and seniors will be exempt from the tuition increase.
Texas state law mandates that public universities allow students to fix their tuition, and the university automatically opted-in students who came to MSU before fall 2024.
Students concerned about whether they are opted-in can check with the business office at 940-397-4101.
'We have not been able to give regular raises'
While speaking at Oct. 22's Student Government Association meeting, Haynie stressed the importance of this increase for the well being of the campus.
"Some of you may have had professors who have left, or staff members who have left. And part of that is because we have not been able to give regular raises to our faculty and our staff," Haynie said.
She added that these resources will be used to keep current staff and "bring talented faculty to the campus."
Haynie said she hopes these pay raises become regular. However, this tuition increase could fund one round of raises.
MSU's gains
Between the spring and fall 2024 semesters, enrollment shot up 925 students, an approximately 17% increase.
Haynie said student retention has increased by about 1.5% over the past year.
"But we need to be doing better than that. And certainly, the increases in retention are made in percents and tenths of percents," Haynie said.
A helping hand for some
Increasing the tuition will also require the university to earmark 15% of the money gained to support students in need — another effort to improve retention.
"We are required by statute to set aside a certain percentage of any tuition increase and use that to support students who have greater need, economic need, and so by putting it [the tuition increase] there, we will automatically be setting aside dollars to support students," Haynie said.
Looking to ratchet up the university's minimum wage
She said another goal of the increase is to raise the minimum wage of student workers to $10 by the 2027 fiscal year.
The current minimum wage is $8.25 per hour.
However, Haynie told the SGA that MSU is looking into increasing the hourly wage to $9 by the 2026 fiscal year, which begins in September 2025.
Sheppard Air Force Base and MSU: 'We are excited'
"We will go ahead and move to $9, so we will move that up a year early to $9 . . . with these resources and then be able to raise it to the ($)10 in the following fiscal year for students," Haynie said.
Another focus of Haynie's administration is the construction of the Military Education Office on the second floor of the Bridwell Activity Center, which she said she hopes will improve retention.
MSU has already begun providing scholarships to service members and their dependents from Sheppard Air Force Base.
"So those plans are progressing, and we are excited for that, and they will begin construction once those renderings are approved at the upcoming Board of Regents meeting," Haynie said.
George Svoboda is editor-in-chief of The Wichitan.
