With the start of a new school year comes a new price for the 2024-2025 cohort’s tuition. For first-year students, this is their first time paying a student tuition bill. 

University of Oregon students pay their student bills through DuckWeb, the university’s management system. Under the Student Menu tab of the site, students can find a link to QuickPay where they can submit their payment. Students will receive an email when their student bills have been added to their accounts. 

The cost of tuition for Oregon residents is $13,403 and the cost for non-residents is set at $41,865 for incoming students, not counting mandatory fees. With mandatory fees, tuition lands at $16,136 for residents and $44,598 for non-residents. This does not include the cost of housing or meals.

For students living on campus, housing fees will vary depending on where the student lives, according to University Housing. 

UO tuition and fees are based on residency, student classification, credits enrolled, major and term. The course listing is the easiest way to check for specific course fees. Mandatory fees for online courses vary based on the class and status as an admitted or non-admitted student, according to UO’s Mandatory Enrollment and Course Fees.

On top of regular tuition and fees, there is a $25 per credit fee for asynchronous online courses. This fee helps provide extra services to support students taking these courses, according to UO’s Tuition and Fees webpage. 

According to UO’s Funding Sources webpage, “Tuition is the primary source of funding for the university’s academic operations.” In the 2022-23 school year, UO received a net total of $319.9M in non-resident tuition and $141.5M in resident tuition.

The Tuition and Fee Advisory Board is the group at the university that reviews and suggests changes to tuition and fees for each year before they are sent to the university president. The president then reviews the changes before suggesting a tuition plan to the Board of Trustees. The final tuition rates are set by the Board of Trustees.

Everyone in the university community can get involved in the process by attending TFAB meetings, open forums or sharing their thoughts during public comment periods. General meeting dates and times are made available to the public through their website. 

During the 2024-25 fiscal year, TFAB will meet this fall to cover topics like the basics of UO’s budget, how financial aid works and long-term financial planning for the university, according to the UO tuition site. 

In the winter of 2025, they will meet again to discuss possible changes to fees including mandatory fees, housing rates, course fees, graduate tuition and tuition rates for the next group of undergrad students.

Brian Fox, associate vice president for budget, financial analysis and data analytics, is a member of TFAB. 

“My office provides a lot of data and financial support to help that group understand the context. We help provide that information so that members of [TFAB] feel like they have everything that they need to make an educated decision or an educated recommendation,” Fox said.

In the summer of 2020, the University of Oregon introduced the Oregon Guarantee program, which locks undergraduate tuition and certain fees for students for up to five years. 

This program applies to all students and covers tuition and administratively controlled mandatory fees, but not lab or course fees. The guarantee applies for 20 terms, from the summer of enrollment until spring five years later.

“Tuition and mandatory fees, or administratively controlled fees, are set for five years and then if a student goes for a sixth year they roll onto the cohort that came right before them, so they don’t see a giant increase,” Fox said.

If the Board of Trustees approves a tuition and fee increase of more than 5% for in-state undergraduate students, the increase must also be approved by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission or the state legislature before it can take effect.

“The TFAB process is all about tuition for the next cohort and our financial aid programs. Those are four-year programs. We don’t do scholarships for one year and then see how things go. We want to make sure that students and their families can really plan around a consistent tuition price,” Fox said.

Graduate student tuition at the University of Oregon is determined by the specific program in which the student is enrolled. In addition to tuition, all graduate students are required to pay a set of published mandatory fees. These fees are separate from the undergraduate Guaranteed Tuition Program.

Tuition for Law School students also varies by program. 

According to UO’s Major Cost Drivers, tuition increases are mostly due to a decrease in public funding and labor costs account for 77% of expenditures. 

The university’s tuition page states that while the cost of public education “has only increased slightly over the last two decades when adjusted for inflation, the level of public support has declined significantly during the same time. Fundamentally, public disinvestment has shifted the burden of paying for a college education to students and families.”

Kody Kelleher has been selected as the University of Oregon’s new university secretary and advisor to the president. He will officially begin his position on Aug. 15. 

Kelleher is currently working at the University of Arizona as its assistant vice president and associate secretary of the university. He has been in this position since July 2023, but has worked at the University of Arizona for nearly six years. Kelleher previously held the position of senior advisor for just over five years.

According to the UO Office of the President, the university secretary and advisor to the president is responsible for facilitating and coordinating the Board of Trustees’ activities.

The secretary’s roles include, “strategic planning, meeting preparation, staffing and managing relationships between the board and university administrators.” 

The secretary also ensures compliance with public meeting laws, and attends and keeps record of all board and committee meetings and manages board activities.

Kelleher’s responsibilities additionally include maintaining university policies made by the board or president and serving as an advisor to President John Karl Scholz. He will manage projects, provide strategic advice and represent Scholz.

Jamie Moffitt, the senior vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer, was the chair of the search committee for Kelleher’s position. 

She said she was “very pleased” that Kelleher will be stepping into the role of university secretary and advisor to the president. 

“[Kelleher’s] extensive board experience and time working within higher education at the University of Arizona made him an extremely strong candidate,” Moffitt said. 

According to Moffitt, the committee was looking for a leader who matched the skills and experiences they deemed necessary for the job. The committee reviewed written applications and went through multiple rounds of interviews to select the ideal candidate.

The committee was searching for candidates with, “highly effective and professional verbal communication skills, the ability to communicate effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds, meeting preparation experience and excellent writing skills,” Moffitt said.

John Dudas, senior vice president and chief of staff at the University of Arizona, worked closely with Kelleher at his former position.

“Kody is an incredible colleague who makes everyone on the team better,” Dudas said. “His knowledge of the university, the board and the legislature coupled with his intelligence, work ethic and people skills make him invaluable. He is also fun — he takes his work, but not himself, seriously.”

Kelleher explained why he applied for the secretary position.

“I have worked in higher education and state government in Arizona for many years and reached a point where I was ready for a new experience,” Kelleher said. “I am a big believer in the value of public higher education in society, so I knew I wanted to join a preeminent public research university and the mission of the University of Oregon, and its place nationally, really stood out.”

Kelleher said he has been very interested in the governance of public universities in the United States, particularly those who face competition for funding and enrollment. 

Kelleher explained that he was impressed with President Scholz and his vision for UO moving forward. 

“I had to jump at the opportunity to work with him and the great leadership team he’s built who are positioning UO to excel at the national level,” Kelleher said.

“Being able to serve in a position that works closely with the UO Board of Trustees, which is a truly high-caliber group of leaders, to strategically advance the university sounded like a great and interesting opportunity,” Kelleher said.

According to Kelleher,  his experience before beginning his position at the University of Arizona has allowed him to observe how large universities operate.

“I also worked at Arizona Board of Regents and as a senior education policy advisor at the Arizona Legislature for several years, so my background has allowed me to see how large public universities operate from various perspectives, which I believe will be very useful moving into this new role at UO,” Kelleher said.

Kelleher explained that his priority is to get to know the students, faculty and staff once he begins his position. 

“I am eager to get to campus and connect with people. I’ve been fortunate to have already met many people at the university who have all been incredibly welcoming to my family and I, so I am very grateful for the opportunity and am excited to get to work,” Kelleher said.

University of Oregon’s Resident Assistants of first-year dormitories reflected on how they’ve grown, what they’ve learned since starting their positions and how they will carry the lessons they’ve learned with them going forward.

Ryan Campbell has worked as an RA since August of 2022. This year, he will be working in Yasui Hall, formerly known as the New Apartment-Style Residence Hall. He said his time as an RA has made him into a more empathetic person. 

“I feel I have become a lot more understanding and compassionate,” Campbell said. “I love the job, and the people [I met] doing it are some of [the] closest friends I have. It is amazing for people who love to form a deep bond with a close-knit team, and truly be able to develop as a leader for the future.” 

Johan Jaimes worked at both Barnhart Hall and Yasui Hall. Now that he has graduated, Jaimes works as an intern at FINN Partners in Portland, but said he had become more “sociable and understanding,” from his time as an RA.

“It’s a great networking opportunity. It’s also a good blend of team and solo-based work. The perks are also not too bad. I will say, like any job, that there are parts of the job that aren’t fun. Sometimes, rounds can be long and stressful,” Jaimes said. 

Violette Creel will be entering her second year as an RA in the New Residence Hall. She said she will be approaching this coming school year ready to take on a leadership position among her coworkers.

“I plan to take a more leading and guiding position on my RA team now that I have the experience and opportunity to aid incoming RAs,” Creel said. “Being a RA is not for the faint of heart, nor for individuals who do not care for the responsibilities it holds. You have to be prepared to put care into the position, as not doing so can actively harm the community you are in.”

Robert Wilson began his position as an RA in September of 2021. He has previously worked in Hamilton Hall and the New Residence Hall and will be returning to Hamilton again this fall. He said he is spending his summer focusing on his “personal life” to prepare for his incoming residents. 

“A large part of being an RA is being there for others, and that becomes much harder when you’re filled with stress,” Wilson said.

Wilson said that a piece of important advice he would give a new RA is to have confidence in your training and your abilities.  

“The biggest [piece of] advice I’d give to a new RA is that it’s normal to be nervous, but trust in your ability. You were hired for a reason, and it’s never about being perfect at the role, but instead having the heart to listen and work with others,” Wilson said. “It’s important to take care of yourself just as much as your residents.”