The Board of Regents approved a proposal to renovate the third floor of Martindale Hall, which is home to Northwest's School of Health Science and Wellness, as the first phase of a longer-term renovation plan. (Northwest Missouri State University)

Northwest Missouri State University’s Board of Regents during its regular session Thursday approved rates for the institution’s 2022-23 academic year, including tuition and fees, room and board rates, and supplemental fees that support the University’s continued emphasis on accessibility and affordability.

Undergraduate students attending Northwest next fall will see an estimated average net increase of 4 percent, or about $413, based on 28 credit hours. Tuition for on-campus graduate programs also will increase 4 percent in alignment with market research and on-campus undergraduate tuition, while off-campus graduate programs maintain non-standard tuition and fee rates that vary from traditional courses.

Presenting the proposal to Regents, Vice President of Finance and Administration Stacy Carrick said the rate increases align with the consumer price index (CPI), which is 7 percent, while managing student expectations and experiences and maintaining the University’s goals of operational excellence in a highly-competitive market. The approved increase also completes the implementation of a single blended tuition rate approved by the Board last year to meet student preferences and flexibility in course delivery.

“The Northwest Leadership Team continues to focus on affordability,” Carrick said. “We keep that forefront in our minds for our students’ access and affordability.”

Carrick noted Northwest’s focus on student affordability and competitiveness is reflected in its peer-leading metrics. The University’s net price is in the lower third of its peers and ranks below the state averages of top competitors in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Further, 98 percent of first-time, full-time students attending Northwest and 85 percent of undergraduate students receive some type of financial assistance.

Additionally, a recent affordability analysis conducted by the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) found the number of affordable public postsecondary options is dwindling and affordability gaps are rising. While NCAN reports only 23 percent of 490 public four-year institutions are considered affordable, it lists Northwest as one of only five four-year institutions in Missouri that are affordable, based on its most recent data. Northwest is listed as affordable in each of the years reviewed by NCAN since 2014-15.

“Our scholarship model has been validated by a couple of external sources saying that we have a robust, strong financial aid and scholarship model,” Carrick said. “Part of that is how you recruit. Students and parents are very focused and want their child to have scholarships and receive aid. So part of our strategy and approach has been looking at both the sticker and the net price.”

In addition to tuition rates, room rates will not increase while meal plans will increase an average of 7.7 percent, or $306, in alignment with the food-away-from-home CPI and the University’s dining contract.

Northwest’s Student Senate supported the proposal and voted to increase the employment program fee by $4 a credit hour, resulting in an increased wage of $10.30 an hour for student employment positions. Northwest cites its internationally benchmarked student employment program, which offers about 1,200 jobs to University students, as a valuable component of the profession-based experience its students receive. The University’s placement rates of 96 percent for undergraduate students and 99 percent for graduate students lead the state.

Carrick added that Northwest achieves competitive pricing through operational efficiencies and cost containment strategies. According to a report released by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development in 2021, Northwest is the most efficient with state appropriations per degree and certificate granted among state universities. Further, the report showed Northwest receives the second-lowest level of funding per full-time equivalent.

Martindale Hall renovation

The Board approved a proposal to renovate the third floor of Martindale Hall that is contingent on the University’s receipt of approximately $1 million in funding from an external donor. With their approval, Regents also authorized Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski and Carrick to execute a contract that does not exceed $1.3 million.

The renovation project targets a 4,260-square-foot section of Martindale Hall’s third floor, which includes multipurpose space and storage areas. The upgrades will provide academic laboratory spaces to support human services and school counseling programs within the School of Health Science and Wellness as well as faculty and staff offices.

Carrick said the project approved by the Board is the first phase of long-term plans to renovate Martindale Hall, which opened in 1926 and was last renovated during the mid-1970s.

In other business

Regents approved the creation of six programs in Northwest’s Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth School of Business. The new programs consist of two Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree programs, one with an accounting emphasis and the other with a finance emphasis, as well as certificate programs in accounting, finance, human resource management and marketing, all of which will launch next fall.

The MBA programs, which are online, add to emphasis areas Northwest already offers in human resources management, management, business analytics and marketing, while the 12-hour graduate certificates will provide MBA students an opportunity to pursue multiple specializations.

The Board also ratified the appointments of four adjunct faculty to teach upcoming University courses this spring and set its meeting schedule for the 2022-23 academic year.

The Board of Regents is responsible for sound resource management of the University and determining general, educational and financial policies.