Forum held to address student concerns
A public forum on Tier II tuition increase was held Thursday at noon in the Sunburst Lounge of the Taggart Student Center.
Utah Senator Lyle Hillyard, President Kermit L. President Hall, Associated Students of Utah State University President Steve Palmer and other administrators attended the forum. They discussed the academic future of USU, explained the Tier II tuition proposal, addressed student concerns and heard students’ opinions and answered their questions.
According to a handout given at the forum, 3.5 percent tuition increase stipulated in Tier I will be applied to all the universities and colleges in Utah next year.
“Of this increase, 0.5 percent is for student financial aid to be used at the individual campuses,” President Hall said.
President Hall said Tier II tuition increases aim to enhance the qualities of academics and student services. All of the revenues generated from Tier II will be used to benefit students.
Compared with peer institutions, he said, USU tuition fees are lower than 34 of 38 comparable institutions in the Central West of the United States. The retention rate of our peer institutions is 85 percent, and “we lag far behind that,” he said.
President Hall said USU is facing a severe budget cut totaling $6.6 million. Taking some measures to generate revenues to maintain and better education programs and meet students’ demands are the primary concerns of the university.
One of the purposes of the Tier II increase is to have 16 new faculty members hired next year and an additional 21 faculty members hired in the following year. USU doesn’t have enough faculty members, which makes some classes big and some bottleneck courses not accessible to a lot of students, he said.
President Hall said USU’s 26-to-one student-faculty ratio is high compared with the average ratio of its peer institutions which is 17 to one. Within the first year, USU lost one-third of its students who came here as a freshman.
“It’s a problem,” he said.
According to the handout, for undergraduate resident students taking 13 to 18 credits per semester there will be a 12.5 percent tuition increase in total for new freshmen which is $133 additional dollars each semester, and 9.5 percent for other undergraduates, which is $101 additional dollars each semester.
Considering the fact resident freshmen students will be here longer and receive more benefits, it’s fair for them to pay a little bit more, he said. They are looking at a 12.5 percent increase.
For undergraduate international students, the tuition will be increased by 9.5 percent which totals $353.
However, Tier II increases will not applied to all USU students. According to the handout, undergraduate non-resident students won’t pay the Tier II tuition increase because they will be largely impacted by the change in the residency requirement.
President Hall said, a Tier II increase is not proposed for graduate students because they are expected to see their tuition go up 20 percent in total in the next few years.
“[The] university has been charged by the legislature to raise 650,000 additional dollars out of graduate tuition in order to meet our budget goal,” he said.
They will have a significant increase in their tuition in the future, he said.
Hillyard said the graduate tuition here at USU is low compared with other universities.
In addition to the increases mentioned above, President Hall said they have proposed to add an additional $2 per credit to all courses in Business and Engineering Colleges. Large class size and substantial needs for equipment promoted the demand for more funding. All of the revenues generated from the surcharges will be returned to these two colleges for improving the programs, he said.
President Hall said this year’s increases are part of a three-year plan to improve the quality of academic offerings. There will be a 5 percent Tier II increase for 2003-2004, and a 4 percent increase for 2004-2005.
According to the handout, Tier II tuition increase is estimated to generate an additional $1.9 million in revenue during the coming year and in future years.
For 2002-2003, the funds will be used to “upgrade student recreational equipment, increase the number of sections in bottleneck classes, expand Supplemental Instruction and Rhetoric Associate programs, enhance USU’s libraries, implement a new student information system, assist departments in operating support for new faculty, and expand and improve high-demand programs in business and engineering,” according to the handout.
USU is expected to hire an 70 additional faculty members in the next three years, which will contribute to improving our education programs, instilling new academic vitality and enhancing graduation rate, President Hall said.
President Hall said, “The problem of having too many students and a few faculties won’t go away if we entirely rely on the state.”