However, the price raise will also include a three percent salary increase for most university employees.
In his annual address to the trustees, UT Knoxville President Joe DiPietro said, “We have a lot of challenges, but we also have a lot of opportunities as I see it as an institution.”
He explained that the main challenge is keeping the university affordable to students coming from both in and out of state. DiPetro said that this is why keeping the increase low was so important to the board this year.
With the increase, incoming freshman can expect to pay nearly $12,500 a year, which includes students at UT Chattanooga.
State funding can change every year, which requires a higher increase for the university, but for every percentage point increase from tuition fees, UT receives around $4.5 million from the state.
“We predicted two years ago that by the time we got to the year 2025 we’d have a $34 million deficit in a single year,” DiPietro explained in a press release, “It’s been really challenging to deal with that type of a projection and say to our chancellors that we need to close that gap. That means we need to cut costs or increase revenue.”
However, Jimmy Cheek, soon to be previous chancellor of the university, explains in an email to students that “the out-of-state portion of undergraduate tuition will not increase, so out-of-state undergraduates will pay about 1 percent more for tuition over last year’s rate.”
He goes on to explain that students will see “small increases in the Facilities Fee and Student Program and Services Fee,” but there is an exception.
“The exception are students who first enrolled in fall 2013, spring 2014, or summer 2014, who will see a three percent increase over last year,” Cheek explains. “These students were the first to pay tuition based on the 15–4 model and have been held to three percent annual tuition increases each year, even when rate increases for other students were higher.”
The budget creates a position for a special advisor for diversity and inclusion, which will be filled by Noma Anderson on July 1, a position that is explained by DiPetro as needed due to the concern about diversity and inclusion at UT.
The budget was approved by the trustees and will take effect beginning July 1.
