State facilities funding helps keep tuition flat

Southeast Missouri State University will be on the receiving end of improvements -- $10 million worth -- thanks to a bill signed into law by the Missouri Legislature, which allocates $200 million to institutions of higher education throughout the state. Gov. Jay Nixon paid a visit to the campus's Grauel Building on Aug. 24 to discuss the renovations, which, he said, he called for last year.

Nixon's presence outside Grauel was by design, as the building takes highest priority and will undergo renovations that, according to Southeast President Carlos Vargas-Aburto, are long overdue. These improvements include electrical service, energy efficiency updates and compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

As the Southeast Missourian's Samantha Rinehart reported following the Governor's stop at the university, Nixon is most pleased that this legislation will help maintain lower tuition. If there were no other reason to commend the Legislature for funding this project, this alone merits recognition. Education comes at great expense, and if this allows more students to begin and complete their educational pursuits, it's a positive thing.

Currently, Missouri boasts tuition freezes that made "tuition costs in its public four-year institutions Â… the lowest level in the nation." Southeast students are pleased, no doubt, that the allocated revenue is expected to help keep things that way.

"Every additional dollar the state spends on these projects is a dollar the colleges and universities don't have to raise through tuition and fees," Nixon asserted.

That's good news for students.