Auburn Board of Trustees approve tuition for 2016-2017 at Auburn, AUM

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Students at Auburn University and Auburn University at Montgomery will see a slight increase in tuition for the 2016-2017 academic year, based on proposals approved by the Auburn University Board of Trustees at its regular meeting on Friday.

Marcie Smith, vice president for business and finance and CFO at Auburn, said in-state and out-of-state Auburn students can expect a 3 percent increase in tuition and a $4 increase to the student services fee.

In-state tuition for the 2016-2017 school year will be $9,072, plus $1,624 in student fees. Out-of-state tuition will be $27,216, plus $1,624 in student fees.

AUM Chancellor John Veres said AUM undergraduate students will experience a 2 percent increase and graduate students will see a 4 percent increase.

In-state undergraduate students at AUM will pay $8,880 annually, while out-of-state undergraduates will pay $19,950. The cost for in-state graduate students will be $6,732, while the cost for out-of-state graduate students will be $15,138 a year. The annual student services fee at AUM will be $760.

Additionally, the board agreed with the recommendation to hire tvsdesign of Atlanta and Wilson Butler Architects of Boston as the architectural team that will lead the design of Auburn University’s new performing arts center.

Tvsdesign will serve as the local design team and will work with Wilson Butler, a national firm known for its work designing performing arts centers, historic theaters, academic art facilities and high-tech entertainment venues.

Wilson Butler contended with three other national firms for the opportunity to design the center as part of a four-day design charrette recently held at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Click here for more on this story.

In other matters, the board agreed to allocate 0.2 acres of university property to the City of Auburn to serve as a right-of-way for a project to improve a section of South College Street.

Dan King, associate vice president for Facilities Management, said the city and the Alabama Department of Transportation have entered into an agreement for a $3.1 million project to improve South College from Roosevelt Drive to West Samford Avenue by widening it and adding a median.

King said the university is supportive of the project, which will improve traffic flow, reduce congestion at the two intersections and enhance vehicular and pedestrian safety. He added that the city has agreed to improve the parking lot at the corner of East Samford and South College as compensation to the university for use of its property.

Other items approved by the board include:

  • Constructing a new building for Risk Management and Safety at the Facilities Management Complex on West Samford Avenue. Risk Management offices are currently housed in the Leach Science Center and Safety Annex. In order to make the proposed addition to Leach, these employees need to be relocated. The estimated cost is $2.8 million. In November, the board approved using Seay Seay & Litchfield of Montgomery as project architect.
  • Naming Davis Architects of Birmingham as architect for the Interdisciplinary Science Building. The new building will provide state-of-the-art instructional and research laboratories, specialized classrooms, collaboration space, meeting facilities and office space. It will also replace the College of Sciences and Mathematics spaces in Funchess Hall, Petrie Hall and Haley Center. This is part of a two-project plan to replace Funchess.
  • Naming Foil Wyatt Architects and Planners of Jackson, Mississippi, as the architect for Agricultural Sciences Research Building. The new building will provide state-of-the-art instructional and research laboratories, specialized classrooms, collaboration space, meeting facilities and office space. It will also replace the College of Agriculture spaces in Funchess Hall. This is the second part of the plan to replace Funchess.
  • Naming Seay Seay & Litchfield of Montgomery as architect for a project to expand the Public Safety Building.
  • Agreeing to use Christopher Architecture and Interiors of Birmingham for repairs and renovations to the president’s home.
  • Purchasing properties at 1415 Pumphrey Avenue and 1440 West Samford Avenue for use by Auxiliary Services maintenance staff and operations.
  • Establishing undergraduate student fees in the College of Engineering, as a means of sustaining existing instructional programs and improving student services. The fee will be implemented in the fall, starting with freshmen engineering students.
  • Establishing a Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts. Auburn will be the first university in Alabama to offer this degree.
  • Renaming the Department of Aviation and Supply Chain Management as the Department of Systems and Technology to better reflect the ongoing research and instruction programs offered.
  • Adding Nursing Informatics and Health Systems Leader as new track options for the joint Master of Science in Nursing degree offered at Auburn and Auburn University at Montgomery. The joint program currently offers tracks in Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Educator.
  • Adding a counseling psychology option within the Master of Science in Psychology program at AUM.
  • Awarding a Doctor of Philosophy degree posthumously to Andrew Randolph Shotts, who died in September while completing a doctorate in English.
  • Passing a resolution honoring Aubie and the Friends of Aubie after Aubie’s ninth national championship, the most of any other collegiate mascot.
  • The board acknowledged Melvin Owens, director of Public Safety and Security, who will retire at the end of April after serving nearly 35 years at Auburn.

Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.