Tara Allsup

2016 Chestnut Circle

Piedmont, OK 73078

The Honorable Mary Fallin

Oklahoma Governor
Oklahoma State Capitol
2300 N Lincoln Blvd Rm 212
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Governor Fallin,

Hello, my name is Tara Allsup. I am currently a student at Northern Oklahoma College/ Stillwater
Gateway. I am a freshman pursuing a degree in Health Education with an option in Exercise
Science. After this semester, I will have thirty-one credit hours. I took four at Redlands Community
College, twelve at the University of Central Oklahoma, and I am finishing the last thirteen credits
here at Northern Oklahoma College. As one of your constituents, I am writing to show a major
concern about the rising cost of institutions. I find it heart breaking that Oklahomas very own
residents have trouble attending college because of the inflation of the cost. According to Northern
Oklahoma College 2016-2017 cost comparison, the tuition for Tonkawa, Enid, and Stillwater is
eighty-three dollars per credit hour. Where the cost changes at each location is the fees. Tonkawas
fees are thirty-nine dollars and fifty cents per credit hour. Enids fees are fifty-two dollars and fifty
cents. Northern Oklahoma College Stillwater fees are two hundred and twenty-nine dollars and
seventy-five cents per credit hour. This is just the cost for Undergraduate Oklahoma residents only,
and is not reasonable for many Oklahomans. Listed below is research from several different
institutions across Oklahoma comparing fees and tuition.

The University of Central Oklahoma is located in the heart of Edmond Oklahoma. This is the first
university I attended and took twelve hours. The general tuition cost per credit hour is one hundred
and ninety-two dollars. For twelve credit hours that would be approximately cost two thousand
three hundred dollars without fees. The mandatory fees stated on The University of Central
Oklahomas website are as follows:
Student Activity Fee $14.25
Library Fee $2.50
Technology Fee $3.00
Student Facility Fee $11.55
When the fees and tuition are added together the total cost per credit hour comes out to be two
hundred twenty-three dollars and thirty cents. The total cost for twelve credit hours would be two
thousand six hundred seventy-nine dollars and sixty cents. That is only three hundred dollars more
than just the tuition cost. The fees that make the difference are the fees based off the college
offering the course that you want to take. For example, if you take a course offered by the college
of Fine Arts and Design the extra fee is seventy-eight dollars and twenty-eight cents. This is a
small amount, but if you take four courses at the college you would pay an extra three hundred
dollars. There are fees associated with every specific college on campus. Many people in the State
of Oklahoma cannot afford the University of Central Oklahoma, and it is thought to be one of the
more affordable universities in the state.
The University of Oklahoma is a Division One university located in Norman, and the cost to get
education there is more expensive. The tuition per credit hour is one hundred fifty-two dollars and
fifty cents. This is less expensive than The University of Central Oklahoma when it is the tuition
only. For twelve credit hours, the total cost of tuition only would approximately come out to be
one thousand eight hundred thirty dollars. The rise in price comes from the fees and is as follows:
Health Fee $74.00
Cultural and Rec Services Fee $12.50
Academic Advising Fee $40.00
International Student Fee $75.00
When these fees are added together, the sum is one hundred twenty-six dollars and seventy-five
cents. Once again, these are considered mandatory fees for each semester. The University of
Oklahomas website lists a table by hourly fees breakdown. For example, activity fee, transit fee,
social event fee, and security fee are just a few to name. When tuition, mandatory fees, and hourly
fees are added together the total cost per credit hour comes out to be two hundred seventy-nine
dollars and twenty-five cents. Taking a twelve hour load would make a students total of tuition
and fees three thousand three hundred fifty-one dollars. Now add the specific colleges fees for
each course such as the College of Mathematics and Science and the price continues to increase.
There are only two Division One universities in Oklahoma, and these universities have more fees
than other colleges in the state.
Oklahoma State University is the other Division One university located in Stillwater, and is where
I will be attending in the fall of 2017. The tuition cost per credit hour is one hundred sixty-four
dollars and seventy-five cents. For a twelve hour load the total cost of tuition only would be one
thousand nine hundred seventy-seven dollars. For a student with a minimum-wage job, this amount
is very reasonable, but adding the fees makes it more difficult to pay. Oklahoma State University
has a larger number of mandatory fees, and therefore I will not list the table. The total cost of
mandatory fees sums up at one hundred twelve dollars and sixty cents according to Oklahoma
States Bursar page. Then it goes on to list the academic service fees and miscellaneous fees. The
total cost for twelve credit hours would then be three thousand three hundred twenty-eight dollars
and twenty cents.
As a student, these statistics are interesting and heartbreaking. According to the Atlantic
newspaper, Oklahoma is ranked fourteenth lowest in the United States for tuition cost. While being
one of the lower tuition cost states, it is unfair to have each college student pay for all the fees. For
example, the Student activity general fee is five dollars and forty-five cents. Around twenty-four
thousand students enroll at the university in Stillwater. Having each student pay the mandatory
fees would approximately be one hundred thirty thousand eight hundred dollars. This large amount
goes to renovations of the Colvin center, which only a small number of students actually use. I am
not asking you to make college free in the state of Oklahoma although most people would
appreciate it. I am asking you to consider my possible proposal to lower the cost of institutions.
Most institutions in the state of Oklahoma, if not all, have tuition waivers. This is a great start to
help more students go to college, but a tuition waiver only goes so far. I would like to implement
the idea of a fee waiver. This would be beneficial to the families that can file for a waiver. A family
would only pay for the specific college fees such as the College of Liberal Arts or Mathematics
and Science. These fees would still give the university money to fund the colleges. The next step
would be to not require all mandatory fees to be mandatory. For example, at Oklahoma State
University, the Colvin Recreation Center and the Student Union is funded by fees. I believe that if
you want to work out or have a place to study you can pay the additional fees, but should not be
required by all students. Another example is that I have a gym membership at a gym that costs ten
dollars a month. I do not want to pay an extra five dollars towards a building in which I have never
been in, let alone worked out in. I understand that it is a possibility the university would not be
able to keep up the Colvin or Student Union, but if there are not enough students wanting to use
these facilities, why should we have to pay for them. I would like to see Oklahoma on the news
for helping students achieve their dreams by being able to afford universities without paying for it
in other places like taxes. I am very interested in hearing your thoughts about this proposal. Please
email me your thoughts and questions at tara.allsup@okstate.edu. Thank you for taking time to
read this letter and my possible resolution for lowering the cost of institutions.

Thank You and God Bless,

Tara Allsup
Oklahoma State University. (2017). Tuition & Fees for 2016 - 2017.

https://bursar.okstate.edu/tuition-and-fees

This source is from Oklahoma State Universitys webpage. It shows the cost of tuition and fees

for a semester at the college. There is no author, but the information is researched and published

by Oklahoma State. This source was updated in 2017. This source is researched facts and is not

biased. This source is reliable because it is researched statistics on the university. I will benefit

from this source with the different cost of tuition and fees. I will use this data to compare to other

universities tuition and fees.

http://www.noc.edu/Websites/northok/files/Content/3064203/Cost_Comparison_16-
17_per_credit_hour_Final.jpg
This source is from Northern Oklahoma Colleges website. It is a table with information from the

different tuition and fees at each separate campus. There is no author, but the data was researched

by Northern Oklahoma College. This source was updated in 2016-2017. This source has statistics

and facts and therefore, is not a biased source. I will benefit from this source with the statistics on

each campus and their different fees. I will use this in the paragraph over Northern Oklahoma

College.

http://sites.uco.edu/em/registrar/tuitionandfees.asp
This source is from The University of Central Oklahomas web browser. It is a list of statistics

including the cost of tuition and fees. There is no author, but the data is researched and published

by The University of Central Oklahoma. These statistics were updated in 2017. This source has

researched statistics from the university and it is not biased. I will benefit from this source with its
statistics on the universities tuition and fees. I will use this source in the paragraph over The

University of Central Oklahoma.

http://www.ou.edu/bursar/tuition_fees.html
This source is from The University of Oklahomas webpage. It gives statistics over tuition and

fees. There is no author, but the information is researched and published by The University of

Oklahoma. This webpage was updated in 2016-2017. This source is not biased because it is solely

statistics on the university. I will benefit from this source with its information on the universitys

cost of tuition and fees. I will use this source when I am talking about The University of Oklahoma.

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/CPBB_Tution_Inflation_Adjusted.jpg
This source is picture of a graph that ranks the states for tuition costs. It gives is percent of change

in tuition at four-year institutions. The author is the college board. This graph is from 2013 and

the percent changes have only increased. This source is researched data from each state and is not

biased. I will benefit from this graph when I talk about Oklahomas ranking. I will use this source

in the paragraph about Oklahoma being one of the lower tuition costing state.