 "Photo: Daniel Flores/The Pan American")
AUSTIN - The University of Texas System Board of Regents unanimously approved a tuition-and-fee hike for students during a Special Called meeting yesterday afternoon. Tuition will increase by the maximum amount allowed by the Legislature of $140 for each of the next two academic years, which equates to roughly five percent each year.
UTPA President Robert Nelsen and student government President Raghuveer Puttagunta presented the Regents with a significant and dynamic revenue problem. Nelsen addressed potential losses in funding that may total $21.1 million in the next biennium budget, while Puttagunta called for greater legislative support.
“The nominal increase in tuition doesn’t truly make a dent in the total revenue deficit at UTPA,” Puttagunta said, explaining to the Regents about how the increase affects the university’s budget woes. “We are trying to be lean, but the state must assist in higher education. The legislature must hold fast to its responsibilities, and just as much as revenue relies on student and the legislature, it is your responsibility as Regents to facilitate the process.”
The outgoing student government president was backed up by Regent Karim Meijer, who said the state Legislature is not keeping up with its obligations; he urged stronger involvement in the legislative process.
“When we fall short in appropriations, we owe it to our state legislature to get them up to speed,” Meijar said. Several Regents nodded in agreement with his statement.
Puttagunta mentioned during his remarks that the proposal was met with some resistance from students. He was the only student government president out of all institutions to mention resistance to tuition and fee increases. In a Cost of Education Committee report, 83 percent of 52 comments disagreed with the proposal.
Most universities requested near the maximum amount allowed by the Legislature. Some asked for increases over limit via student referendums, which is the only way to break the Legislature’s cap. A few years ago UTPA used a referendum to go over the cap, however, the Regents denied the larger increase.
In response to affordability concerns from UTPA, UT-Brownsville and UT-El Paso, Regents Chairman Colleen McHugh, appointed chair in the same meeting, acknowledged the burden on students.
“It’s never easy raising tuition,” she said, referring to impact on students.
Also responding to the issue was David Prior, System’s vice chancellor of academic affairs, who said the presidents repeated several themes during their presentations.
“The prime theme we heard is to keep our institutions affordable,” Prior said. “The presidents are devoted to keeping up the quality of our institutions.”
Nelsen said in comments after the meeting that the bump in funding from the increase will not act as much of a cushion to the 5 percent state-mandated budget cut. Nelsen, who was joined in the meeting by all System-institution presidents, was the only leader to tell the Regents of proactive action to plan for an anticipated additional two percent state-mandated cut.
He also announced to them new circumstances the university faces since the submission of the proposal. Nelsen expressed optimism that his message of UTPA’s complex and compound problem was well received by Regents.
“I think they understand that our students are especially (financially) strapped, and that it’s very important that they get adequate funding,” he said.
Nelsen said the university will not be able to move forward on a new parking lot west of Sugar Road. He also said the university will not be able to hire new faculty, which was originally built in to the tuition-and-fee hike proposal.
The university’s new president told Regents that potential changes to funding sources, including formula funding, the TEXAS Grant, and the loss of stimulus funding, will lead to the $21.5 million shortfall. He emphasized the widespread financial hurt students would feel if the TEXAS Grant changed from need- to merit-based.
“I felt the Regents needed to know what we face in the future,” Nelsen said.
Also up for a vote were several fee increases. Those included the Library Support fee increased from $2.25 to $2.75 in 2011 and to $3.25 in 2012, and the International Education fee, increased from $1 to $4. The Regents approved a Medical Services fee increase from $23.20 to $25.10 for academic year 2011, but denied an increase to $27.35 for the following year.
All measures adopted yesterday will go in to effect this fall. The cost of 15 semester hours this year was $2,764. The cost for those hours will go up to $2,904 this fall, and then to $3,044 the following year.
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