UT Board of Regents Votes to Increase Tuition

By Chris O'Connell in 40 Acres on March 20, 2018 at 9:02 am | No Comments

On Monday, The UT System Board of Regents approved two-year tuition increases for all academic UT institutions, to go into effect in the fall of 2018, ranging from $6 to $306 per semester for in-state undergraduate tuition. The fall of 2019 will also see increases of $100 to $300 per semester. The Board of Regents last approved tuition increases in February 2016.

In a press release, the UT System emphasized the affordability of UT in relation to other Texas institutions and public universities across the United States. It reads:

Even with tuition increases, UT Austin, the state’s flagship university and top-ranked public research institution, will still cost less than several other Texas public universities. Tuition at UT Austin ranked eighth when compared with other public universities in Texas, according to 2016 data provided by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. UT Austin continues to be ranked nationally by Kiplinger, Forbes and The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best values in higher education.

The reasoning given for the increase, according to the UT System, is “to provide them with critically needed revenue to boost student success, including an emphasis on increasing graduation rates and recruiting and retaining top faculty.”

On Dec. 7, 2017, all eight UT academic institutions submitted proposals to the Office of Academic Affairs. Over the next couple months, OAA worked with the institutions to finalize the proposals. On Monday, institutional leadership presented to the Board of Regents, which then voted on proposed tuition and fees rates for the academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20.

“Every UT institution continues to implement measures to offset the rising costs of operations and reductions in other funding sources, and they have made every effort possible to avoid increasing tuition,” Chancellor William McRaven said in a statement. “We are very sympathetic to the fact that students and their parents work hard to find the means to support their education, and we want to ensure that students have the best possible educational experience. As UT institutions strive to improve graduation rates and recruit and retain top faculty, they need additional revenue.”

The UT System’s press release says that “students who receive financial assistance will see little to no increase in their out-of-pocket expenses.” Students from families whose annual income was less than $60,000 had tuition and fees 100 percent covered in 2016. That rate was 90 percent for students from families making up to $80,000.

UT Arlington, UT Austin, and UT Dallas have different tuition programs in place, known as differential tuition. As of Monday, UT El Paso, UT Permian Basin, UT Rio Grande Valley, UT San Antonio, and UT Tyler will adopt differential tuition.

The Board of Regents also approved tuition proposals for graduate and professional students, and for out-of-state undergraduates, though the press release did not contain the same breakdown per semester.

Tags: tuition increase, UT System Board of Regents