University of Oregon board to discuss presidential search, tuition

Miranda Cyr, Register-Guard
·5 min read
The University of Oregon Heritage Project, which is deferred maintenance of University and Villard halls, is asking for more funding at the March 13 Board of Trustees meeting.
The University of Oregon Heritage Project, which is deferred maintenance of University and Villard halls, is asking for more funding at the March 13 Board of Trustees meeting.

The University of Oregon Board of Trustees is gathering for its quarterly meeting Monday and Tuesday in Eugene, and on Monday may announce news related to its six-month presidential search.

A last-minute special meeting was added to the calendar for 9 a.m. Monday. The agenda states that there will be "action" on the search.

Former president Michael Schill announced his resignation in early August. Former provost Patrick Phillips took over as interim president the following month. The Board of Trustees officially launched a presidential search in mid-September.

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The rest of the two-day agenda includes discussions and votes on tuition, capital gains projects and new degree programs.

At 9:30 a.m. Monday, three committee sessions will be held: the Finance and Facilities Committee, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee, then the Executive, Audit and Governance Committee.

Tuesday's meeting begins at 9 a.m. and will include the full board and action items to be voted on as well as public comment and updates from the Associated Students of UO.

For both days, the meetings will be held at the Ford Alumni Center, Giustina Ballroom, 1720 E 13th Ave. in Eugene. All meetings will also be streamed on UO's YouTube channel.

Capital project seeks more funding

The Heritage Project, which is deferred maintenance for University and Villard halls, is asking for more funding amidst inflation and more work needed than originally anticipated.

In 2021, the state Legislature approved the project and allocated $58.5 million in bond funding. The university committed to a $5.85 million match.

The project will replace all mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems as well as ensure the building is seismically stabilized. Walls will also be moved to create more accommodating classrooms.

Although still in the design phase, the scope has broadened, looking at a design for both buildings along with the construction of both temporary and permanent displacements that will support the main construction of the two halls.

Due to both the scope change and construction cost inflation, the total anticipated budget is now $87.82 million.

UO's Campus Planning & Facilities Management is requesting approval to commit an additional $10 million to complete the designs. CPFM will return to the Trustees in June for a full project review.

Tuition discussion continues

Interim president Phillips has recommended a 4% tuition rate increase for incoming resident students in 2023. He proposed a 3.8% increase for non-resident students. Phillips finalized these recommendations after meeting with the Tuition and Fee Advisory Board.

These proposed rates are $289.18 per credit hour for residents and $903.24 per credit hour for non-residents.

"In making this decision, I reviewed the TFAB recommendations, accepted direct feedback from students and other stakeholders as part of a public forum, reviewed feedback provided through an online survey, and discussed tuition issues with a wide variety of stakeholders," stated Phillips in his memorandum included in the meeting packet.

Annual full-time tuition for new resident undergraduates taking 45 credits per year will be $13,013.10. Non-residents' full-time tuition will be $40,645.80.

Tuition increases do not affect students who enrolled in summer of 2020 or later, after the Oregon Guarantee was established by the Board of Trustees. The Oregon Guarantee promises each UO student a fixed tuition rate for up to five years. For this incoming cohort in 2023, the above tuition will similarly be locked in for five years.

Students who qualify for the Oregon Guarantee will also not receive any fee increase. However, students who enrolled before summer 2023 will see a fee rate increase of 3%.

Graduate student tuition increases range based on program and college from 0% to 5%. For programs within the College of Arts and Sciences, proposed tuition increases range from 0% to 4%. Law students have a 5% tuition increase proposal.

Overall average housing rates would increase by 4% as well.

New proposed degrees

The UO is proposing two new undergraduate degrees.

The first is a bachelor's in Popular Music, offered through the School of Music and Dance.

Popular Music Studies already existed as a concentration in the school. But with rising enrollment and a look to expand the course to include music production, UO proposes a new degree program to offer more flexibility. Enrollment was at one student in 2016, eight students in 2017 and grew to 99 students as of 2021.

According to the proposal, students would be able to select collections of course offerings that allow for a greater focus on one or more aspects of the music, such as performance, composition or production.

The second proposed degree is a bachelor's in Cybersecurity, offered through the College of Arts and Sciences.

This degree is intended to help address a "severe cybersecurity workforce shortfall" in Oregon and across the nation, hoping a new degree will feed young professionals into the workforce.

According to the proposal, students would receive the technical expertise needed to deal with the demands of technology while providing opportunities to become educated in allied topics such as law and business related to cybersecurity.

The board is required to approve these new programs before they are submitted to Oregon's Higher Education Coordinating Commission for final approval. If approved, both would take effect in fall 2023.

Agenda items meeting-by-meeting

Board of Trustees meeting at 9 a.m. Monday:

  • Presidential search

Finance and Facilities Committee at 9:30 a.m. Monday:

  • Quarterly financial and treasury reports.

  • Paid leave external contract.

  • Capital project approval: Heritage Project expenditure increase.

Academic and Student Affairs Committee at 1:15 p.m. Monday:

  • Provost’s report.

  • Faculty support and engagement.

  • New undergraduate program approvals.

Executive, Audit and Governance Committee at 3:15 p.m. Monday:

  • Board leadership transition.

  • External auditor update.

Board of Trustees meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday:

  • Public comments.

  • Reports from ASUO, University Senate and interim president Patrick Phillips.

  • Vote on motions approved by Monday's committee meetings.

  • State affairs update.

  • Tuition and mandatory fees.

  • Executive session.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: University of Oregon board to discuss presidential search, tuition