Commission recommends double-digit tuition increase for the fall

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission voted 6-3 Wednesday to recommend tuition go up between 12 percent and 15 percent. THEC officials have said the hike is needed because of continued flat state funding and rising operating costs.

“Without question, this is the most onerous task we have to deal with,” said board member Brad Windley, who voted for the increase.

Several members of the commission, including Secretary of State Riley Darnell, argued that steep tuition increases may prompt the Legislature to place a cap on tuition increases next year.

“I think we’re inviting that in the next session of the General Assembly,” Darnell said. “We’re pricing people out of higher education.”

Board members Darnell, state Treasurer Dale Sims and student representative Kevin Teets voted against the recommended hikes.

Tuition increases have far outpaced inflation for the past several years in Tennessee.

The Board of Regents raised tuition 7 percent last year, 14 percent in 2003 and 7.5 percent in 2002. The University of Tennessee system also has had tuition increases each year for several years, including 7.9 percent in 2004.

The recommendation of the panel now goes to the governing boards of the state’s two higher education systems — the Tennessee Board of Regents and the UT Board of Trustees — who set the tuition for the individual campuses.

The Board of Regents meets Thursday and Friday at Volunteer Community College in Gallatin. The UT trustees meet June 22-23 in Knoxville.

The systems’ governing bodies could follow the THEC recommendations, adopt higher or lower percentage increases, or leave tuition where it currently stands.

Sims said the Board of Regents and UT trustees should not adopt the maximum increases.

“I would urge the boards to think about the relationship we’re cultivating with members of the public,” Sims said. “I would urge you to exercise restraint.”

The tuition increases would bring in an additional $84 million combined for the two systems, about $91 million less than THEC recommends for public higher education spending in the state.

Legislators have not increased the level of higher education funding since 1997, THEC associate executive director for fiscal affairs Jim Vaden said.

Board members who voted to approve the recommended tuition increases called the hikes an unpleasant necessity.

“It’s too bad if the General Assembly wants to impose some kind of cap,” THEC board member Ransom Jones said. “Maybe they could appropriate some more money.”

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On the Net:

Tennessee Higher Education Commission: http://www.state.tn.us/thec/