Tuition increase announced
President Kermit L. Hall proposed a three-year plan for tuition increase as a result of state budget cuts and ongoing student needs in Tuesday night’s Associated Students of Utah State University’s Executive Council meeting.
President Hall said this year USU has taken a $4.4 million budget cut and next year it is proposed USU’s budget be cut by an additional $2.2 million.
“We are going to be $6.6 million lower in our budget by the start of next year than last year,” he said.
As a result, President Hall said a three-year proposal to increase tuition will be more beneficial and less detrimental than a one-year plan.
According to the proposal, Tier I tuition – tuition controlled by state legislature for state educational use is to be increased by 3.5 percent.
President Hall said the regents proposal started off with 3 percent, but added the extra .5 percent for student financial aid that will remain at USU directly to support students.
According to the proposal, Tier II tuition- tuition controlled by USU that remains at the university will be slowly increased over three years according to a student’s status.
President Hall said if a USU student is a resident undergraduate currently or previously enrolled, their Tier II tuition will be increased by 6 percent next year, another 5 percent the year after and 4 percent at the start of the 2004-2005 school year.
New students will receive a tuition increase of 9 percent next year and 5 and 4 percent the following years, he said.
“We are raising the tuition level for incoming students without profoundly raising it for students who are already here,” President Hall said.
However, as a result of a $7 million deficit in state educational funds, state legislation has changed the tuition level of non-resident undergraduates, President Hall said, and these students are now required to complete 60 credit hours before becoming eligible for resident tuition.
“I have written a letter to the governor and urged him to veto this law,” President Hall said. “It is unfair as it applies to students who are already here.”
Also, as a result of the same deficit in state educational funds, Stan Albrecht, executive vice president and provost, said graduate student tuition may increase by as much as 20 percent.
Albrecht said the state legislature had a “$7 million hole they had to fill” and decided to raise tuition for non-residents and graduate students in order to fill it.
President Hall said, “I am disappointed at this turn of events,” because this creates a graduate problem with the university since we try to help graduate students with waivers and a lower tuition.
Albrecht said this legislation not only affects USU, but all institutions in Utah at various levels according to their budget.
President Hall said the goal with the three-year plan to increase Tier II tuition is not to turn the university into the most expensive institution in the United States, but to still be $500 below the tuition of the University of Utah.
“We have the chance to be a better institution and we should seize it,” he said.
According to the three-year proposal, the new tuition increases and a surcharge on business and engineering courses of $2 per credit will bring in an estimated revenue of $1.9 million.
Tad Thornton, ASUSU Extensions vice president and committee head for Tier II tuition, said students have been approached in all colleges by their ASUSU senators and asked how they would like this revenue to be spent.
“This year we wanted to be proactive,” he said. “It’s not just how much we think students can afford, but where the money should be spent.”
As a result of meeting with the student government and listening to student needs, President Hall said the money will go to several areas for a one-time allocation as well as for hiring 70 new faculty members over the next three years.
He said the one-time allocations will be used to upgrade student recreational facilities, instructional support for bottleneck courses, improve the university’s libraries, implement the student information system and department operating budgets for new faculty hired this year.
There is some good news out there for the recreational facilities, President Hall said.
“It won’t be the Taj Mahal, but it will substantially help,” he said.
Also, money is being allocated to the library because President Hall said he believes the libraries in Utah were “completely stiffed.”
He also said although this revenue will be used to hire new faculty members, absolutely none of the money will go to raising faculty wages.
“That money will go specifically to those areas and will not be earmarked for any other areas,” he said. “This is our university, the students, faculty and staff are all a part of the project.”
Tiffany Evans, ASUSU director of student activities, said, “The administration has done an outstanding job working side by side with students and trying to educate us on the big picture.”
President Hall ended his remarks to the Executive Council and said, “The reason I am here today is this is not just my project, it is our project. I want round two, three and four with these guys down in Salt Lake City.”
Steve Palmer, ASUSU president, said student senators will return to their colleges to gain more student input for a resolution to add to President Hall’s three-year plan.
A vote on the student resolution will take place Friday in a public meeting at 4 p.m., he said.