CORVALLIS — On Thursday, the Oregon State University Board of Trustees endorsed a reduction to the school’s “tuition plateau,” which allows students taking more than a full course load to pay the same tuition as other full-time students.

Final approval rests with the State Board of Higher Education. The board of trustees, which was formed in late 2013, will transition to autonomy by the beginning of the next academic year, and from then on will set tuition. This move will apply to students both at Oregon State University-Cascades Campus and the main campus in Corvallis.

This decision is a reaffirmation of a plan begun in the fall of 2013. Formerly, students taking a full course load of 12 credit hours paid the same tuition as those taking 13 to 16 credit hours. Under that system, students with 12 credit hours paid about $185 per credit, while those taking 16 credit hours paid $139 per credit. No other Oregon University System institution currently uses a tuition plateau.

The plateau was previously reduced for this academic year to apply only up to 15 credit hours. Beginning next academic year, tuition will be higher for students taking any course load greater than 12 credit hours, though the increase from hour to hour will be less than the increase from hour to hour below the full-time course load. Up until 12 hours, every credit hour costs $189 in Corvallis, but from 13 to 15, each additional hour will cost around $94. Beyond 15 hours, each credit will cost $189. At OSU-Cascades, each credit hour costs about $10 less than both the $189 and $94 rates in Corvallis. OSU plans to fully eliminate the plateau for the 2015-16 school year.

Sherman Bloomer, director of the office of budgets and fiscal planning, said, “This change will encourage good decision-making in the best long-term interest for students moving toward graduation and help the university provide the resources to get them there.”

Bloomer characterized the plateau as a “subsidy” for students taking more classes. He also noted that the plateau encouraged students to take a higher course load, often to the detriment of academic performance.

In a statement read to the board, Brett Deedon, president of the Associated Students of OSU, endorsed the plan.

“Once well-intentioned, the plateau today serves as an unfair subsidy for some students,” the statement read. “And conversely, it is a penalty for other students taking class levels above or below the plateau.”

Bloomer said the increased revenue from the reduction of the plateau would go toward increasing financial aid.

Despite the changes to the tuition plateau, undergraduate tuition rates have been frozen and were not adjusted. The board did endorse a 2 percent increase to resident graduate tuition and a 4 percent raise for non-resident graduate tuition.

— Reporter: 541-633-2160,tleeds@bendbulletin.com