Tuition Rates in 1938

During the Great Depression, the state cut the university budget, and tuition became a controversial issue. In 1939, a proposal in the state legislature to raise tuition for in-state students from $75 to $125 per year and from $175 to $225 for out-of-state students met with criticism across the state as newspaper editorials and letters to the editor debated the wisdom of the increase. In the end, only out-of-state tuition was increased. During the 1940s, tuition remained fairly stable at $81 per year for in-state students and $288 for out-of-state students. In 1947, when the state was again able to increase its support of the university system, it instituted the first quota for out-of-state students.