ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri Western State University students will pay 4 percent more in tuition starting in the fall.

The university's governing board hiked the tuition Thursday.

Undergraduate students will pay $166.40 per credit hour starting in the fall, which is $6.40 or 4 percent more per hour.

Graduate students will pay $201 per credit hour, which is $7.72 or 4.1 percent more per credit hour.

Missouri Senate Bill 389, which passed last year, caps tuition increases at public universities at the rate of the consumer price index -- 4.1 percent.

The tuition increases, combined with a $1.60 rise in general fees, would increase the university's budget by $865,000 if students take the same number of hours in the 2008-2009 school year that they did in 2007-2008.

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Information from: St. Joseph News-Press, http://www.stjoenews-press.com