NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
EOU board to decide on tuition increase
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A tuition
increase could be on the horizon
for students at Eastern Oregon
University.
As institutions of higher educa-
tion across the nation deal with the
repercussions of inflation, lowered
enrollment and the COVID-19
pandemic, public universities across
the state are turning to higher tuition
rates. At Eastern Oregon University,
a pending board decision on Thurs-
day, May 19, could lead to similar
increases in the coming years in
order to continue offering services
at the highest quality.
“The priority is always on
student resources
and student support
services, how do
we ensure that our
students get the
best that they need
to be successful
and graduate,” said
Eastern Vice Pres-
Seydel
ident of University
Advancement Tim Seydel.
Six out of the seven public univer-
sities saw decreased enrollment in the
2021-22 academic year, with Eastern
included in that group. Eastern’s 2021
fall enrollment was 2,825, compared
to 2,853 in the fall of 2020 and 3,067
in 2019. Of that student population,
65% are Oregon residents and 35%
are from out of state. The university
saw 1,193 part-time enrollments and
1,632 full-time students.
Eastern Oregon froze tuition in
The Observer, File
An Eastern Oregon University student walks across the campus quad on Oct. 28, 2021. A tuition increase could
be on the horizon for students attending the university in La Grande.
to the board’s finance administra-
tion board and then decided upon
by the board.
Eastern’s student population
primarily divides into on-cam-
pus and off-campus students, a
trend that existed well before the
coronavirus pandemic increased
the usage of online learning at all
universities. According to Seydel,
the pandemic multiplied that trend
2021 as a result of the pandemic,
but is considering an increase of
just under 5% for undergraduate
students for the 2022-23 academic
calendar. The decision revolves
around lengthy discussions from
the tuition advisory committee and
budget planning committee, which
consists of students, faculty and
staff — the recommendation from
the two committees is handed up
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NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
and led to more incoming students
taking the online approach.
“What we saw over time was
more students shifting to the online
modality,” he said. “We also saw
a slight increase in the number of
traditional students wanting to go
into our online program.”
With tuition and student fees
accounting for roughly half of
most university’s overall revenue,
lowered enrollment trends due to
the pandemic play a pivotal role.
National trends of inflation and
lowered attendance to full-time
college programs have forced
colleges into increasing tuition
and focusing efforts on increasing
tuition back to pre-pandemic levels.
“Certainly the emphasis is to
increase enrollment to ensure that
more student have an opportu-
nity to go to Eastern,” Seydel said.
“What we’re doing there is really
focused on intensive connection
with our students and prospective
students.”
Seydel noted that the universi-
ty’s focus is in retaining its student
services and retaining faculty
members. The challenge of enroll-
ment creates a balance between
managing cost factors while still
ensuring that Eastern Oregon can
serve as an affordable, accessible
university.
As COVID-19 cases remain
low, Eastern remains focused on
increasing enrollment in years to
come through proactively reach-
ing out to prospective students and
individuals who can utilize wrap-
around services to study at a higher
education institution.
“We’re trying to do everything
we can to make it possible for them
to come to La Grande,” Seydel said,
“be on our campus, be here taking
classes, meet one on one with their
faculty mentors and being able to
get the wraparound services they
need from our tutoring centers or
student support areas so that they
can be successful.”
Baker City mother, daughter
to receive $200K in settlement
Warren Wilson
lost coaching job
after student’s
allegations of
sexual harassment
as an example of how one
person’s dedication can posi-
tively impact a community.
We are committed to protect-
ing all students in our district.”
Jennifer J. Middleton, a
Eugene attorney, represented
the Fasts, who filed the suit in
By JAYSON JACOBY
U.S. District Court in Pend-
leton.
Baker City Herald
Roberta Fast on May 5 said
BAKER CITY — A Baker she and her daughter would
City woman and her daugh- talk about the settlement when
ter who filed a federal lawsuit Katrina returns to Baker City
against the Baker School from college in about two
District two years ago, claim- weeks.
ing district officials retaliated
The central charge in the
against the daughter after she suit was that school district
complained about a Baker officials kept Katrina Fast,
then a BHS junior, off
High School volley-
ball coach’s sexual
the varsity volleyball
team — she played on
harassment, have
settled the suit out of
the junior varsity team
court and will receive
as a junior in the fall
$200,000.
of 2019 — as retalia-
The money comes
tion for her complaints
from the district’s
about the actions of
Fast
head volleyball coach
“risk pool and not
out of district funds,”
Warren Wilson.
Katrina and Roberta Fast
according to a press release.
Roberta Fast and her complained about Wilson to
daughter, Katrina, filed the multiple district officials in
suit in April 2020 in U.S. January 2019, after Katrina’s
District Court.
sophomore volleyball season
They contended the district in the fall of 2018, according
violated a federal law prohibit- to the lawsuit.
ing discrimination in schools
Katrina Fast also played
— commonly known as Title for a club volleyball team.
IX — as well as the First After graduating from
Amendment and Oregon law. Eagle Cap Innovative High
As part of the settlement, School in Baker City in
both parties agreed to a 2021, Fast enrolled at Iowa
statement the school district Lakes Community College
released Thursday afternoon, in Estherville, Iowa, where
she has played setter and led
May 5. It states:
“Baker School District her team, and was fifth in her
values its relationships with conference, in assists.
In April 2022 Fast signed
students, families, staff and
the community. These rela- a letter of intent to transfer to
tionships are critical to the Warner Pacific University in
district’s efforts to support Portland, her parents’ alma
student safety. We thank mater, to continue her college
former district student Katrina volleyball career this fall.
Fast for coming forward and
After the Fasts expressed
sharing her concerns. The concerns about Wilson to
district acknowledges the district officials, including
contribution of Ms. Fast and superintendent Mark Witty,
her efforts to effect change to Witty fired Wilson as head
protect others. Katrina serves volleyball coach and assistant
baseball coach on Feb. 25,
2019. The firing was appealed
to the Baker School Board,
which upheld Wilson’s termi-
nation on March 19, 2019.
During the meeting,
Wilson’s supporters criti-
cized the way the issue was
handled and spoke favorably
of Wilson’s character and
coaching abilities. A member
of the volleyball team urged
the board not to act based on
comments from a few players
who were dissatisfied with the
coach and how much playing
time they had been given.
As recently as April 4,
both Middleton and the
school district’s attorney, Kim
Hoyt of Salem, jointly filed a
pretrial order in which they
agreed to certain facts.
On March 17, 2022, the
attorneys filed a document in
court stating the parties had
mediation sessions on March
23, 2020 — before Fasts filed
the lawsuit — and again on
Aug. 9, 2021, after the lawsuit
was filed. Both were unsuc-
cessful, according to the docu-
ment.
The Fasts’ lawsuit notes
Wilson was kept on as a
BHS volleyball coach after
the Oregon Teacher Stan-
dards and Practices Commis-
sion disciplined him in
November 2017. The disci-
pline was imposed after the
school district investigated
a complaint against Wilson
for alleged “inappropriate
teacher/student boundaries” in
regard to his interaction with
student athletes in his role as
BHS girls JV basketball coach
in 2015.
Wilson signed a stipu-
lated agreement on Sept. 23,
2017, in which TSPC found
his actions constituted “gross
neglect of duty” in violation
of state law.
His teaching license
was suspended for 60 days
and he was placed on two
years’ probation.
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