BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD -- Among Ohio's public universities, the costliest just got costlier.
Miami University's board of trustees Friday approved a 5.9 percent hike in tuition and fees for its Oxford campus, and an increase of 3 percent for its Hamilton and Middletown campuses.
Other Ohio public universities recently enacted similar fee increases, fueled by rising costs of technology, professors' salaries and lawsuits.
A 6 percent increase is the maximum allowed by the state.
Effective with the 1998-99 academic year, Miami's tuition and fees at the Oxford campus will be $5,726 for in-state students and $12,186 for out-of-state. Costs are lower at the branch campuses because more state money is being funneled there, said Edward J. Demske, Miami's senior vice president for finance and university services.
Over the past several years, Miami has traditionally led the state's public universities in tuition costs -- but also has ranked tops in many measurable categories of academic excellence, officials point out.
"We rate as a "best buy,' " despite the tuition increase, Mr. Demske said.
He pointed out that about 40 percent of the increase will help pay for university-funded grants and scholarships, which will be given based on academic merit and financial need.
The budget earmarked $2.1 million for new scholarships and other financial aid, $1 million for faculty salary increases and $450,000 for staff wage increases.
Miami typically beats other Ohio public universities in attracting high-caliber students: those with high scores on college-admissions tests and those who placed in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, said James C. Garland, Miami president.
Dr. Garland believes, however, that the university's reputation has been unfairly tarnished by "adverse publicity" arising from two nights of pre-graduation rowdiness last month.
Hundreds of students gathered in the downtown area, and several dozen were arrested on charges of vandalism, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Those students also face university discipline, which is still being debated.
Following the disturbances, a number of prospective students who had agreed to enroll at Miami changed their minds -- and Dr. Garland blames that on bad publicity.
"That's really regrettable when we have 14,000 other students who weren't part of that," he said.
The university still met its goal of drawing 3,350 new students for the fall term, Dr. Garland said.
In other action during a wide-ranging three-hour meeting Friday, the board voted to issue $40 million in bonds. About $25 million of that will go to improvements and new construction on the Oxford campus; $13 million in existing debt will be refinanced at lower interest rates, Mr. Demske said.
The Ohio Board of Regents must approve the bond issue before the trustees can select an underwriter and issue the bonds.
Miami University's main campus has 16,000 students, with an additional 2,600 at the Hamilton campus and 2,500 at Middletown.
