Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

MACOMB, ILL. -- New students at Western Illinois University will be faced with a 4.5 percent increase in all-costs, the WIU Board of Trustees said following the board meeting on June 8.

This cost increase includes tuition, fees and room and board for new undergraduate students on the WIU-Macomb campus for the Fall semester of 2012.

These students will be charged $8,012 in annual tuition, based on 15 hours per semester at a $267.07 per credit hour rate ($12.12 more than the Fall 2011 tuition rate of $254.95 per credit hour). Graduate tuition for Macomb campus students entering in Fall 2012 will be $7,068.50, based on 24 credit hours per year ($294.52 per credit hour compared to $281.16 in Fall 2011). Information according to a press release from WIU.

Also according to the release, yearly room and board increases for entering students will be $360 more per year for double occupancy ($8,820 compared to $8,460 for Fall 2011) and $455 more per year for single occupancy ($11,237 compared to $10,782 for Fall 2011). Fees for incoming Western-Macomb students will increase by $99.60 per year for students with a 15-hour schedule per semester ($2,431.50 per year beginning Fall 2012, compared to $2,331.90 per year in Fall 2011 and $2,270.10 in Fall 2010).

Fees are guaranteed for four years under the University Cost Guarantee, so students entering in Fall 2012 will not see changes in their total costs. The University Cost Guarantee was established in 1999.

"We remain committed to providing an affordable, accessible education to our students. Despite a decrease in state funding and delays in reimbursements from the state, our goal is to keep the all-costs increase as low as possible," WIU President Jack Thomas said. "As prospective students and their families begin thinking about college, we encourage them to take a close look at Western."