The Board of Trustees met on Wednesday via Zoom to approve both changes to tuition for certain UW graduate programs, including a 26% reduction in tuition for non-resident pharmacy students, as well as an amendment to the agreement between the School of Energy Resources and the Wyoming Enhanced Oil Recovery Commission.
The largest item on the Board’s agenda was to approve changes to the tuition rates for specific professional and graduate programs.
Perhaps the most significant change was a large cut to the tuition rate for non-resident pharmacy students, which includes both out-of-state and international students. The tuition rate for the Pharmacy program was cut by 26%, going from $1,159 per credit hour to $855 per credit hour.
“The final recommendation is that pharmacy non-resident tuition is very high and just not in accordance with what other schools are doing,” Trustee Laura Schmid-Pizzato, Chair of the Biennium Budget Committee, said. The Board changed this to bring UW in line with other universities.
The changes will take effect starting Fiscal Year 2024. The timing of the change is fitting given October is Pharmacist’s Awareness Month.
Other graduate programs also saw tuition changes. The Law School had its tuition increased by 2% instead of the usual 4%, in a bid to remain competitive for future students. Resident tuition for the law school will now be $543 per credit hour, while non-resident tuition will be $1,159.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice program, the Distance English Master’s program, and the Master of Business Administration program had their tuition increased at the typical 4% rate.
The Board approved these changes unanimously.
The Board also spent time in executive session to discuss nonpublic information, which could include litigation or potential litigation, personnel issues, or any general information classified as confidential by law. The Board was in executive session for 86 of the 102-minute meeting, or about 84% of its time.
The Board did not take any public action on approving a contract with Chick-fil-A to open a store in the Wyoming Union, which has been a topic of public discussion for months. Under the regulations regarding executive session, such a proposal could be discussed there, though it is unknown to the public if such discussion occurred.
The Board concluded its meeting by authorizing a change to the memorandum of understanding between UW’s School of Energy Resources and the Wyoming Enhanced Oil Recovery Commission, a state agency that focuses on increasing Wyoming oil and natural gas production.
The Board will hold its next meeting from November 16-18, 2022 in the Wyoming Union.
