The Oklahoma State University/A&M Board of Regents approved OSU’s request to introduce a block tuition plan for the fall semester during its regular meeting Friday in Stillwater.
The new plan, called “Finish in Four”, offers a flat rate for tuition and university-wide fees for full-time undergraduate students taking 12 to 18 hours in a semester.
“We are pleased to introduce this block tuition model for our students,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “It is designed to help students graduate quicker, while potentially reducing the total cost of an OSU degree.”
Hargis said that with the change to a block tuition plan, the university hopes to keep tuition and university-wide fees flat for the 2014-15 school year. Rates for the next academic year will be announced when the 2014-15 budget is approved in June.
For most degrees, completing at least 15 hours of applicable coursework each semester puts a student on track to graduate in four years, which means several benefits to students:
- Eliminating additional semesters or years of expense for room, board and other costs
- Reducing student loan debt upon graduation
- Allowing entry into the workforce earlier
Many of the universities across the country that have adopted a block tuition plan have seen significant improvement in graduation rates. Currently, only 31 percent of OSU students graduate in four years and around 60 percent graduate in six years.
This plan can reduce considerable cost by reducing the time to earn an OSU degree.
Part-time undergraduate students – those taking less than 12 hours – and graduate students will continue to be charged on a per-credit-hour basis. Other exceptions also will be considered.
Hargis thanked the OSU Student Government Association and students for their feedback as the university developed its plans.
“OSU already is recognized nationally as one of the best values in higher education, and that value only increases if our students graduate faster,” Hargis said. “This plan offers even greater value to students and makes an OSU degree more accessible and affordable.”
More information about OSU’s “Finish in Four” plan is available at https://bursar.okstate.edu/block-rate-information.
