MALDEN -- It will cost more to attend classes at Southeast Missouri State University next school year.

The Board of Regents Friday unanimously hiked fees by $4 a credit-hour for in-state students and $7 a credit-hour for out-of-state students. The fee hikes will take effect next fall.

The action came at the regents meeting in the Bootheel Education Center.

Under the new rates, the fees per credit-hour will be $100 for in-state undergraduates; $106 for in-state graduate students; $180 for out-of-state undergraduates and $191 for out-of-state graduate students.

The regents also hiked room-and-board charges for the 1997-98 school year.

The charges will range from $3,920 to $4,760, depending on the residence hall. Room charges will go up 3.6 to 6.8 percent, while board charges will climb 3.1 to 3.6 percent.

Dr. Ken Dobbins, Southeast's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said Southeast's fees compare favorably with other colleges in Missouri.

"We are obviously not the highest and not the lowest. We are pretty much in the middle," he said.

Even though students will pay more to go to school fall term, Dobbins said students percentagewise are paying less of the total cost of their education than a few years ago.

In fiscal years 1994 and 1995, students paid 37 and 36 percent, respectively, of the total cost of their education.

Today, students are paying 33 percent of the more than $60 million in annual operating costs at Southeast. That figure is expected to drop to 32.5 percent in the coming school year, Dobbins said.

The figures don't include room and board charges.

Dobbins said the university has tried to keep fee increases to a minimum.

Student Regent Christie Johnson doesn't have a vote on the board. But Johnson voiced support for the fee hikes, as did Student Government leaders who attended the meeting.

"I am a tightwad and I hate to spend more money," she said.

But Johnson said the fee increases are fair.

Dobbins said the hike in incidental and general fees is only slightly above the cost of inflation.

He said Southeast is experiencing increased operating costs. The federally mandated hike in the minimum wage will increase student labor costs by about $250,000 in the coming school year, Dobbins said.

"We knew we were going to have to pay the piper," he said.

Don Dickerson, president of the Board of Regents, said he has crunched the numbers and concluded the fee hikes are justified.

The hike in fees includes a general fee increase of $1 a credit-hour, which will raise an added $185,000.

Most of the money will go to improve the university's recreation fields at Sprigg and Bertling.

The rest of the money will fund planning studies for a new, more-centrally located student center and expansion of the Student Recreation Center.

Jason Lane, Student Government president, said many students don't visit the University Center because it is on the southwest corner of the campus, far from most of the residence halls and many of the academic buildings.

Lane said students need a university center that is more centrally located on campus.

Johnson agreed. "There are students who literally live out of their cars because they don't want to walk to the UC."

One possibility is to renovate Parker Hall as a new commons building. Another would be to build a new university center for the students.

Neal Boyd, Student Government vice president, said student organizations need a place to meet. The University Center isn't adequate.

Both Lane and Boyd said the recreation fields are in poor shape.

The drainage is poor, there is no lighting and the rough terrain has resulted in injuries to students who use the fields, they said.

"At times, it would be easier to hold a boat race there than a softball game," Lane said.

He said the recreation center, which adjoins the Show Me Center, lacks sufficient space and equipment.

Regent Doyle Privett said Southeast should listen to the concerns of students and try to meet their needs.

But Dickerson isn't sold on the need for a new student center.

He questioned the wisdom of spending millions of dollars to build a new student center.

He also questioned if a new building would generate more student use than the University Center.

Lane said studies from other universities indicate that new or renovated commons buildings have led to increased student use.

Board of Regents Action

The Southeast Missouri State University board Friday approved:

-- Student fee increases, including hikes in incidental and general fees, campus room-and-board charges and monthly rental charges for two university-owned apartment buildings.

-- Designs for directional signs on campus.

-- A $143,441 contract for design of a central control system for heating and air conditioning, and fire and security alarms.

-- A $54,000 contract for the annual audit.

-- Unified majors in physics and chemistry education, and a minor in tourism.

-- A resolution conferring an honorary doctorate degree on Maya Angelou. The actress, musician, author and poet will be the keynote speaker April 10 at the inauguration of Dr. Dale Nitzschke as Southeast's 16th president.