Miami University Board of Trustees discusses tuition changes and Senate Bill 1 at board meetings

Miami University’s Board of Trustees held multiple committee meetings as well as one full board meeting between June 26 and 27. The board discussed tuition and enrollment changes, provided updates on current and future capital projects and discussed broad changes the university will make to comply with Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1). 

The Finance and Audit Committee met at 10 a.m. on June 26. David Creamer, Miami’s senior vice president for finance and business services and treasurer, presented ordinances for tuition, room and board and miscellaneous fees. 

Creamer shared recommendations to increase undergraduate tuition on the Oxford campus by 2% for the fall 2025 cohort for both resident and non-resident students. For the regional campuses, he recommended that undergraduate tuition increases by 4%. Graduate students on all campuses will see a 4% increase as well. 

Creamer said a tuition increase was inevitable, but he estimates Miami’s increase will be smaller than other institutions in Ohio. 

“We came to the conclusion that we can’t move forward with zero increases, but we would constrain those increases,” Creamer said. “I do expect that we will have the smallest percentage increase, and that we will see many institutions going to whatever the legislative cap is.”

Room costs will remain the same, but meal plan costs will rise by 3% for the incoming cohort. 

The committee also provided status updates for the university’s capital projects, including the Bachelor Hall renovation, which remains ahead of schedule. The McGuffey Hall roof replacement project is scheduled to be completed in July, while the Western Campus solar field is underway. Renovations to Morris Hall, Emerson Hall and Tappan Hall have begun with an estimated completion date in 2028. 

Two projects were introduced in this meeting. The demolition of Wells Hall and Williams Hall, which hinges on the renovation of Bachelor Hall, has an intended start date in May of 2026. The committee also discussed a project to design recreation facilities to replace those currently on Cook Field. 

The board also voted to authorize the annexation of the Miami University Airport into the City of Oxford. A portion of the airport had been annexed into the city in 2019, but the board authorized the full annexation of the airport to further support the city’s economic development. 

Following the Finance and Audit Committee meeting, the Academic and Student Affairs Committee held its meeting at 2 p.m. on June 26. 

Chris Makaroff, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, provided an update on Miami’s compliance with S.B. 1. The compliance items include requiring syllabi to be posted publicly and developing an American civic literacy course. 

The syllabus posting requirement will officially take effect in the 2026-27 academic year, with a test run in the spring semester in 2026. Makaroff said the provost’s office is developing a plan with IT, and that the university will likely need to purchase a commercial platform. 

The three-credit American civic literacy course will be primarily taught by the Center for Civics, Culture and Democracy. Pilot sections of two courses – The American Political Tradition and Dimensions of American Civic Thought – will be offered in the upcoming fall semester. 

Further compliance items will be discussed and planned out at the September Board of Trustees meeting. 

At the full board meeting on June 27, multiple committees presented their reports to the board. The board adopted resolutions to the compliance items for S.B. 1, as well as a resolution to dissolve the University Senate Council on Diversity and Inclusion. The board also authorized the fiscal year 2026 operating budget and tuition increases. 

The board will next meet on Sept. 16-17.