UT Regents Approve Tuition Hikes

AUSTIN (AP) – The cost of education in the University of Texas System is going up again.

The UT System Board of Regents on Wednesday approved fee increases for the two-year period starting next fall at the system’s nine academic campuses. The hikes will vary from less than 5 percent a year at UT Austin and others to more than 9 percent a year at UT Brownsville and UT Permian Basin.

At UTEP, tuition will increase 5.2% for the 2008-2009 school year and 4.95% for the 2009-2010. That means a student taking 15 credit hours per semester will pay about $150 more next school year, and about $300 more the year after that. UTEP’s current cost of attendance for a 15-credit hour semester is $2,884.

According to UTEP, Despite the increases, the university’s cost of attendance remains among the lowest in the state compared to other major universities, including UT Arlington ($4,011), UT Dallas ($4,571) and UT Austin ($4,266).

The tuition spike will pay for nine new faculty positions, increase graduate assistant funding, enhance technology and library resources and fund recruiting efforts.

“We’re extremely sensitive to our students’ financial challenges, and have worked very diligently to ensure revenues raised are increasing or improving our students’ educational opportunities while keeping costs within reach,” said Richard Padilla, vice president for student affairs and chair of the university’s Tuition and Fees Advisory Committee.

Across the state, tuitions have gone up more than 40 percent since lawmakers voted in 2003 to let colleges set their own rates.

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