Miami University’s Board of Trustees June 23 approved the operating budget for the 2023-2024 academic year with measures that will affect both students and faculty.

The board authorized a 2% salary improvement pool for employees eligible for raises, while classified employees will receive a 2% increase.

Tuition and room and board for returning students will not be increased after the authorization of the Miami Tuition Promise program.

Nevertheless, the board approved a 2% increase in in-state tuition for incoming students to the Oxford campus and a 4% increase for incoming students at regional campuses. A 4% increase in out-of-state tuition was approved for all campuses.

Following the increase, full-time in-state tuition at Miami will be $14,28 per year, compared with $12,485 per year at Ohio State University and $13,352 per year at Ohio University.

Accompanying the tuition increase, the board also authorized a 3% increase in room costs and a 4.5% increase in board costs for incoming students.

For the 2023-2024 academic year, room and board will be $16,534, compared with $13,966 at Ohio State University and $12,336 at Ohio University.

This comes after a February announcement that Miami is facing a more than $36 million budget deficit. At the time, senior vice president for finance and business services David Creamer equated the deficit to national trends of low enrollment for domestic and international students.

The board also authorized the implementation of an overload fee of $609.79 per credit for first-time students taking over 18 credit hours.

Taylor Stumbaugh, a sophomore at Miami, said the new overload fee is a negative for students.

“I think it’s unreasonable for the university to put a cap on the amount of classes a student can take,” Stumbaugh said.

Stumbaugh also said it should be up to the student if they want to take more than 18 credit hours.

“In the end, it’s up to the student and their work ethic to decide their workload every semester,” Stumbaugh said.