First and foremost, let me state I'm an alumni of the University of Oklahoma, a donor and football season ticket holder for 20 plus years. I am however getting very tired of the University's dishonest communications.

OU often indicates their tuition is one of the lowest and most affordable in the Big 12, below the regional average, etc. Like most claims by the university, this is technically true. The tuition at OU is $137.60 per credit hour ($2,064 flat rate), which sounds like a bargain and fits well with their claims. However, this does not include: Student Facility Fee, Student Activity Fee, Library Excellence Fee, College Technology Services Fee, Academic Facility & Life Service Fee, Security Services Fee, Transit Fee, Special Event Fee, Student Assessment Fee, and Connectivity Fee at $110.45 per hour ($1,656.75 flat rate) There are also mandatory semester fees: Health Fee $74.00; Cultural & Recreational Services Fee $12.50; Academic Records Fee $15.00 and the Academic Advising Fee $25.00. Then there's my favorite, the Academic Excellence Fee of $60.00 per hour. But wait, there's more in the form of individual college specific fees. For engineering: Program Fee $18.00 per hour and a Technology Fee of $28.50 per hour. Tuition & Fees

When you add all of this up, you get a total bill from the bursar (based upon 16 hours) of $5,551.25, with $2,064.00 earmarked for tuition. Comparing tuition to other universities, OU really is a bargain! Their published flat rate tuition is only $2,064 per semester for in-state students ... plus fees. When flat-rate was initially announced, David Boren said other schools, like Texas, also use the same methodology. Really? The University of Texas' flat-rate tuition for one semester of in-state engineering is $5,107, or about 10% LESS than OU. Tuition Costs : Tuition Dollars & Sense

What about fees? Q: What is not covered by my Longhorn Fixed Tuition Rate? A: University fees, housing expenses, optional fees, and fees related to participating in academic programs such as UT in DC, Study Abroad, other similar one-semester programs, or field trips are not covered by nor included in the Longhorn Fixed Tuition agreement. Tuition Costs : Tuition Dollars & Sense In other words, there are no additional mandatory fees.

Put another way, tuition plus fees at the University of Texas is about 10% less to a resident of Texas than tuition and fees at the University of Oklahoma for an Oklahoma resident. In addition, Texas has one of the top ranked engineering schools in the nation, top 10, Oklahoma, top 100.

One additional FYI, about OU's dishonest marketing: Once again, comparing football ticket costs, OU is one of the more affordable. Check your season ticket renewal, there is an additional $60.00 per seat Academic Excellence Fee (sound familiar) added to each season ticket. This is outside of the calculation of comparability.

*** Warning: Editorial Comment ***

How long will we as citizens of this state continue to support policies that reduce revenues? The reduction in revenues contributes to the higher cost of educating our youth through reduced appropriations. Furthermore, why do continue to believe OU is a bargain when compared to other states when this is clearly not accurate? What has resulted from our following the lead of those determined to reduce state revenue and believing our higher education leaders? We as Oklahoman's are paying a higher price for an inferior product. (Put aside the Sooner & Cowboy blindness, the University of Texas is a much higher ranked educational institution than Oklahoma or Oklahoma State)