Advisory Committee Recommends Tuition Hike At UT-Austin
AUSTIN, TX.(AP) – The cost of a college education at the state’s largest university is about to go up – again.
The Tuition Policy Advisory Committee has recommended that the University of Texas at Austin hike tuition by an average of $318 per semester starting next fall, bringing the total price tag to about $4,153.
That will increase by an additional $303 for the 2009 fall semester under the proposal submitted Tuesday to President William Powers Jr. All nine University of Texas system undergraduate campuses have until Dec. 1 to submit their tuition proposals for the next two years to the UT System Board of Regents.
The board is expected to announce its decision on the proposals in February. UT System spokesman Anthony de Bruyn said regents will closely evaluate the requests from each campus. “Affordability, accessibility and most importantly, quality … will always be kept in mind when setting tuition and fees,” he said.
If the UT-Austin proposal is approved, it will represent a 28 percent increase between 2005 and 2009. Rates have increased by more than 50 percent since lawmakers allowed universities to set their own rates in 2003. The committee blamed a lack of state funding for the need to increase tuition.
“The level of state support for university operations really affects the amount of tuition increase needed,” said Andrew Solomon, Student Government president and TPAC member. “Yet again students and their families must be asked to pick up the shortfall in state funding if we want our university to continue to be one of the best public institutions in the nation.”
The committee, made up of students, faculty and administrators, included a financial aid package in their proposal to Powers. The UT Grant Program would help families making less than $80,000 per year. Those making less than $40,000 a year would be fully covered.
Funds from the increases will be used for a variety of programs, including academic initiatives, merit salary increases for faculty and staff, and building renovations, said Steven Leslie, executive vice president and provost and co-chair of the tuition committee. Costs would vary among the colleges and schools.
A semester in the College of Liberal Arts, for example, would cost $4,167 under the proposal. But an undergraduate in the College of Natural Sciences would pay $4,330 per semester. “We will share this proposal with the university community and solicit opinions and ideas,” Powers said.
Revenue from tuition increases would provide $33 million in 2008-09 and $31.7 million in 2009-10 to hire additional faculty to reduce the student to faculty ratio. The committee will hold public forums on the proposal later this month. Powers is expected to submit his final tuition increase proposal to the UT System board of regents in December.
By APRIL CASTRO Associated Press Writer
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Edited and Posted to KVIA.com by Miguel Martinez
