Hall wants 9 percent tuition increase
In what he called an attempt to help Utah State University close the gap between itself and other land-grant institutions, USU President Kermit L. Hall told student government officers Tuesday he would like to see USU’s tuition go up by 9 percent next year.
A 3.5 percent increase was mandated by the Utah Board of Regents Thursday; the other 5.5 percent would be a university-level second-tier increase that would generate about $1 million specifically for USU.
Hall presented his recommendation to the Associated Students of USU Executive Council at its weekly meeting Tuesday, in what ASUSU President Ben Riley hailed as a unique consideration.
“[Hall] could have gone to the Board of Regents and said, ‘This is what I recommend,'” Riley said. Instead, he said Hall did what other university presidents aren’t doing – he decided to solicit feedback from students first.
In addition to Tuesday’s meeting, Hall is planning an open forum for students April 13 at noon in the Taggart Student Center Sunburst Lounge.
Hall said the increase, which he recognizes will be hard for some students to afford, is an important part of getting USU on par with other land-grant institutions rated as second-tier schools by U.S. News and World Report. USU is considered a third-tier institution.
“I will tell you, I don’t feel like I am at a third-tier institution,” Hall said.
The schools Hall would like to see USU catch up with include Iowa State University, North Carolina State University, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Purdue University and Washington State University.
Hall said he wants to use the increased funding to improve on several major areas, specifically freshmen retention, the graduation rate, the student-to-faculty ratio, faculty salaries and total expenditures. He also said he wants to use some to address “the very significant shortcomings” of USU libraries.
Hall said USU is far behind its second-tier “peer institutions” in all these areas. It also has lower tuition – for in-state and out-of-state students – than these other schools.
USU is at the bottom of the list in freshman retention, graduation rates and student-to-faculty ratios when compared to the second-tier institutions Hall sees as USU’s role models. He said faculty and staff salaries are 17 percent lower than other land-grant institutions and 18 percent lower than the peer institutions.
The 5.5 percent increase would apply only to students at the Logan campus, and Hall said most benefits would also be limited to the Logan campus.
Several students attending the meeting asked Hall whether so large an increase would negatively affect enrollment rates.
Hall said he knew the increase would be an important factor in future students’ decisions on where to go to school, but he said schools across the country are raising tuition, and all Utah schools will raise their tuition at least 3.5 percent – substantially more for some schools. Utah Valley State College will raise its tuition 12 percent with the second-tier increase, he said.
He said he also wants to help ease the burden of higher tuition by improving financial aid. He said the newly instituted President’s Inaugural Scholarship Fund, which was started with $10,000 of Hall’s own money and uses funds that would have been used for Hall’s inaugural celebration, is part of that effort.
“I enjoy a party as much as anyone else,” Hall said. But he said he’d rather celebrate his inauguration by improving education at USU.
Hall stressed that the 9 percent increase is just his recommendation and he is still open to feedback. The ASUSU council will look at the specifics of Hall’s plan, talk to students and make a recommendation to Hall next week.
Hall said his open forum April 13 will help him formulate his final recommendation, which he will present to the Board of Regents April 20.
The council tabled discussion on legislation that would restructure USU’s student government, which was originally on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, until next week to accommodate Hall’s presentation and a rally for the USU basketball team.