UT board increases tuition between 9.3 and 13 percent

The increases were set as part of a $1.3 billion budget that the board also approved for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

UT President John Petersen regretted recommending the increase but said university officials studied the budget thoroughly to try to maintain a balance between quality and price.

“Even though any addition you make always comes with great pain, it’s still one of the best buys you can get in higher education,” he said after the vote.

Tuition will rise $542 for instate undergraduates in Knoxville. Combined with a small fee hike, their total fee and tuition bill jumps 11.4 percent to $5,290 per year.

Tuition will increase $407, or 9.3 percent, at UT-Chattanooga and $342, or 9.7 percent, at UT-Martin.

The budget also includes scholarship money to cover the increase for nearly 700 Knoxville freshmen from families with an adjusted income of less than $27,000. Staff will receive a 3 percent salary raise mandated by the Legislature, and faculty will get a raise of 1.5 percent plus a chance for more based on merit.

The entire board attended the Finance and Administration Committee meeting earlier Thursday to hear a detailed presentation about the budget from Petersen. The six-member committee adopted the recommendation unanimously after a long discussion.

Members raised questions about other options for controlling costs such as limiting enrollment, reducing in-state students and increasing those out-of-state, and cutting staff — none of which were favored.

The meeting of the full 24-member board, which was broadcast live on the Internet, included only a few comments.

“I have been very concerned about the options we face,” Trustee Jim Murphy said. “None of those are acceptable because they would have such a negative impact.”

The option of lowering enrollment seemed to be the most disliked, considering undergraduate enrollment has grown by about 600 since the lottery scholarship program began.

Petersen said the lottery scholarships have meant the university is responsible for educating more students and tuition must go up.

“If we did that, we’d be taking less students than two years ago. Then you’re positioning yourself in a death spiral,” he said during the committee meeting.

Other trustees noted that part of the problem is state budget appropriations, which have been cut or held flat in recent years.

“Every student is being asked to make up for the appropriations shortfall,” Trustee Don Stansberry said.

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission, which oversees all higher education in the state, recommended a 15 percent jump for Knoxville and 12 percent for Chattanooga and Martin.

The Tennessee Board of Regents, the governing body for the public institutions outside the UT system, approved a 9.7 percent tuition increase for five of its universities for next year, with a 12.5 percent jump at the University of Memphis.

Tuition increases are nothing new to UT.

In-state undergraduates in Knoxville paid $1,892 in the fall of 2001 for tuition and fees.

All public colleges and universities in Tennessee increased tuition by 15 percent that year after the General Assembly passed a no-new-revenue state budget to end a stalemate.

Tuition increased by 7.5 percent, 9 percent and 7.9 percent for most students the following years.

———

On the Net:

University of Tennessee: www.tennessee.edu