Senate limits tuition hikes

by Krista Martinez
February 25, 2010

After years of tuition increases within Texas’ universities, the Texas Senate has finally voted to limit the tuition increase that a Texas university can charge. Texas universities have increased tuition, on average, by 86% since 2003, when Texas State gave the universities’ governing boards the control to set tuition rates and fees. The premise for this shift in tuition rates control was that deregulation of costs would save the state millions of dollars and instead place the burden on students.

Since 2003, UTEP tuition has increased rapidly. UTEP has stated that it has tried to keep tuition costs down, but the University also said that students should expect a 4.9% increase from spring 2009 costs, i.e., $3,084 to $3,184. In comparison, the tuition for a local New Mexico State University student is $2,679 for 12-18 credit hours.

Proponents of the increase, however, say that education is expensive and that UTEP’s costs are less than other schools trying to be Tier 1 schools. The most accepted definition of a Tier 1 university is a university that spends at least $100 million a year on research, which is twice what UTEP currently spends. There are currently only two Tier 1 universities in Texas: UT Austin and Texas A&M.

According to figures from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the average cost for a resident undergraduate student at the emerging Tier 1 universities was: UT Dallas $4,647, UT Arlington, $4,071, University of Houston, $3,981, UT San Antonio, $3,829, University of North Texas $3,584, and Texas Tech University $3,570. The question is, “Should our tuition costs better reflect the costs of living on the border?”

Since the Texas Senate voted to limit future tuition hikes, universities whose rates currently exceed the state’s median tuition and fee rate would have to hold their tuition and fees at five percent, or at the average rate of inflation, whichever is lower. The new law will allow institutions imposing below-median costs, such as UTEP and Lamar University, to raise their tuition higher than the limits set in the bill.

UTEP has stated that the tuition and fee increases help the students because the additional revenue allows the university to offer more course sections, retain current faculty, improve campus technology, and create more research opportunities. Although tuition and fee rates have risen, UTEP suggests that the University has increased financial assistance programs.

What do your think about UTEP’s tuition increases? Are the benefits worth the increase, or should we say enough is enough?

Print

Krista Martinez

Martinez is a junior Accounting major at the University of the Texas at El Paso. She plans to pursue her Masters and become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).