UT-Austin tuition hikes are proposed
Regents to consider two 3 percent hikes for this year and next
UT regents will discuss two proposed tuition increases at the Austin campus — 3 percent this fall and 3 percent next year — meaning Texas undergraduates could pay about $300 a semester more.
A University of Texas at Austin degree may soon get a little more expensive.
UT regents this week will discuss two proposed tuition increases at the flagship — 3 percent this fall and another 3 percent next year. If the changes are approved, undergraduates from Texas will pay about $300 a semester more in 2017 than they do now.
The cost increase would be the first in five years at the flagship, where tuition has remained relatively steady after a steep increase in the years before.
The average cost of tuition and fees for a year at UT-Austin — about $9,800 — is the fourthhighest in the state, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A year at UT-Dallas, the University of Houston and the University of North Texas each costs more.
State higher education funding, meanwhile, has been slow to recover after a $46-milliona-year hit approved by the Legislature in 2011 — the last time tuition rose at UT, according to
a report by a committee of students, faculty and administrators that suggested the increase. Just to make up for inflation, UT would need to raise tuition by as much as 8 percent a year, according to the report.
The possible tuition bump has drawn some criticism from state leaders and UT students, but the committee argued that with the state providing less money, UT needs more tuition revenue to remain nationally competitive.
Not taken lightly
States across the country are sending less funding to universities, leaving them relying more on tuition than ever. The trend has driven college costs skyward and drawn the ire of students, parents and politicians on both sides of the aisle.
“I want you to know that I do not take lightly the issue of raising tuition,” UT President Gregory Fenves said in a letter to the university when he announced the proposal.
“Families are counting their dollars and expect us to keep UT affordable and accessible to students from all backgrounds. To that end, we will identify areas where we can reduce costs and reallocate existing funds to academic priorities. In addition, we will be able to increase financial aid for students most in need.”
Student leaders said that while no student wants to pay more, a 3 percent increase is reasonable.
“Our goal was to help the university maintain the value of the education we get here and to do as little harm to our students’ pocketbooks,” said Brian Wilkey, president of the Graduate Student Assembly and a member of the tuition advisory committee.
Questions raised
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has questioned why UT needed to raise tuition after the Legislature in early 2015 approved additional higher education funding, including adding more than $100 million to a fund that matches private donations with state money.
“It is my hope, instead of looking at ways to potentially raise tuition in the future, they will look for ways to make college education more affordable for students and families across Texas,” Patrick said in a statement at the time. “With the dramatic increase in funding from the Legislature this session, I am surprised that they are already looking at ways to raise tuition on students.”
Yanett Heredia, a neuroscience and Spanish sophomore, told the Daily Texan, the student newspaper, that the additional financial aid money she’ll have to spend on tuition could be used to buy books or pay for food.
The additional revenue will go toward student success efforts aimed at improving the school’s four-year graduation rate and providing academic support. UT will use some of the money to lure and retain “excellent and diverse faculty,” Fenves said in the letter.
‘Maintain the value’
That made the tuition-increase proposal the right decision, said Rachel Osterloh, a philosophy and government junior and president of the Senate of College Councils.
“One hundred and fifty dollars to some students is an ACL ticket, but for others, grocery money for a month,” Osterloh, another member of the committee that recommended the increase, wrote in an email. She referred to the Austin City Limits music festival.
“Increasing tuition, while unfortunate, will help maintain the value of our University of Texas at Austin education. UT produces leaders, educators, and entrepreneurs for the state of Texas. We must maintain our ability to produce this level caliber (sic) of students.”
The regents meet Wednesday and Thursday in Galveston.