Tuition doubled since 2004, Albrecht fights to keep costs low

Since 2004, tuition has doubled at Utah State University. In his last year as university president, Stan Albrecht is fighting to keep costs low for students.

When Albrecht assumed the role of university president in 2005, tuition had increased by 9 percent in the past year. Due to the previous president’s financial planning, tuition increased another 9.75 percent the next year, then another 8 percent in the 2007 fiscal year.

Then the economic crisis of 2008 hit. The university saw budget cuts at the state legislature, and by 2010 tuition was on the rise once again.

“He’s been the president at a rough time, when state funding for higher education has been very low,” said Erik Mikkelsen, 2011-12 USUSA president.

The most important thing Albrecht did during Mikkelsen’s administration, he said, was fight to keep tuition low.

“He really tried his hardest to keep tuition as low as possible,” he said. “Because of his background, he really understands the issue that students face, and he sees the skyrocketing cost of higher education.”

Albrecht’s parents did not have the opportunity to get college degrees, but because of their hard work he and his five siblings all had that opportunity.

“I know President Albrecht is hyper-aware of the effects that increased tuition has had,” said Christian Thrapp, the 2012-13 USUSA president. “He’s constantly trying to do what’s best for the university and consequently what’s best for the students.”

In Doug Fiefia’s second term as USUSA president in the 2014-15 school year, Fiefia made keeping tuition low an initiative. That year, Albrecht agreed to not raise tuition at a Tier II level, or university level. However, as new needs arose, Fiefia had heard there was a good chance it would increase.

“I was not happy about the potential increase and went and spoke to the president’s chief-of-staff, Sydney Peterson,” Fiefia said. “I told her of my concerns and she calmly told me that I had no need to worry because the president promised me that it would not be increased and he has no intentions of increasing it.”

On top of hearing student input in Logan, Albrecht has played an influential role in the state legislature, where Tier I tuition is appropriated and adjusted.

“In the higher ed committee in the legislature, no one is respected more than President Albrecht,” Mikkelsen said.

The majority of tuition increases since 2004 have come from Tier I. Dave Cowley, the vice president of business and finance at USU, said the legislature will almost always adjust for inflation every year. When Albrecht attended the Higher Education Appropriations Committee Meeting in February, one legislator asked why tuition keeps hiking up.

“My response was, ‘I can’t control the fact that the cost of higher education is going to continue to increase,'” Albrecht said. “‘What we can try to do is through raising endowment monies, offset those increases so that particularly our most vulnerable students really don’t end up having to drop out.'”

Albrecht spearheaded a campaign that brought in $512 million for the university in endowment funds, but he said he is trying to do more to secure need-based scholarships. The university also needs money to finance projects like the Maverik Stadium, the clinical services building and the changes to the Fine Arts Center. Most current projects are not fully funded yet.

When the state legislator gives USU increased appropriations beyond inflation adjustments, the university is expected to cover 25 percent of the increase. If USU’s initiatives of funding a science building and securing graduate research funds are successful, students could expect to pay more in Tier II tuition.

Last year, student body presidents and university presidents all over the state joined together in an effort to keep tuition from increasing. Because of their efforts, the tuition increase — 3 percent from Tier I, 0 percent from Tier II — was the lowest it has been in 17 years.

“This was just one of many examples of how President Albrecht labored on behalf of students,” Fiefia said.

— brennakelly818@gmail.com
@bckelly8