Hall presents plan for increased Tier II tuition
Tier II Tuition will be rising again next year, but Utah State University President Kermit L. Hall said if not for an agreement made with student leadership three years ago, the increase could have been even larger.
The agreement with the Associated Students of USU limited Tier II Tuition increases to 15 percent over the three-year period. Tuition increases of 6 and 5 percent took place in the last two years, so this year’s increase will be 4 percent for continuing students. Incoming students will face a 6 percent increase.
Tier II Tuition is money that is controlled by the university rather than the Legislature.
“I take some pride in the university keeping its word,” Hall said. “I think it’s entirely possible that we could make an argument for raising second-tier tuition more, but that’s not what we agreed on three years ago and therefore it’s not what we’re going to do.”
Hall’s remarks were made at a public forum Friday in the Sunburst Lounge. Students were invited to ask questions and comment on the tuition proposal, but few attended or participated.
The increase will fund $1.8 million of improvements at the university. The largest portion, $1 million, is allocated for enhancing library services such as journal subscriptions.
“We have been effectively using Band-Aids to carry ourselves along from year to year with the library,” Hall said. “The state has provided us $40 million dollars to put up a new library. I think we ought to be smart enough to put up a million dollars on a continuing basis to get the greatest use out of the facility.”
The remaining $800,000 is divided into two parts. The first allocates $600,000 for the creation of an academic service-learning center and supplemental instruction programs.
The second part gives $200,000 for salary increases for faculty and paying off the school’s fuel and energy deficits.
A letter signed by Duke Di Stefano, ASUSU president, and Tagg Archibald, ASUSU extension vice president, said students support the 4 percent increase as long as the money is used for the proposed projects, emphasizing that not more than the allotted $600,000 go toward faculty compensation and energy deficits.
Archibald also serves as chair of the Tier II Tuition committee.
“In all actuality, the students’ proposal matched pretty closely the administration’s proposal,” Di Stefano said. “We are very grateful as students that the administration has kept its word and has done what it said it would do.”
Hall said the fuel and power deficit was created by rising costs of energy, not by increased fuel consumption. Hall credited ASUSU leaders with helping defeat an initiative in the Legislature to have all Tier II Tuition money go to pay off the energy deficits instead of toward the current proposed uses.
A tuition task force will make recommendations to Hall Monday on tuition increases over the next three years. According to information given by Hall, USU tuition has increased 33 percent in the last three years.
Hall also said the economic situation of the state of Utah makes it unlikely that the Legislature will provide significant increases in funding over the next three years.
“I think there’s a real advantage for students and the institution of thinking about tuition as something other than an annual cycle,” Hall said.
He said it allows both students and the university to plan ahead.
“One of the things it absolutely does is focuses everyone’s attention on what our critical initiatives to be addressed are,” he said.
A 4 percent increase in tuition means the cost of attending USU will rise by $50.90 for a resident student enrolled before Summer Semester 2002 ($52.30 for those enrolled after). Non-resident tuition for continuing students will cost $168.39 more for the year.
Resident graduate students will pay $61.71 more. Tuition for non-resident graduate students is significantly higher, so a 4 percent increase means a $215.98 jump for them.
New students, both freshman and graduate students, will see a 6 percent increase.
-royburton@cc.usu.edu