The Board of Trustees voted Thursday to raise tuition for The University of Tennessee students by 13 percent.
President John Petersen spoke before the board on Wednesday about the tuition increase.
“In the short term, given the needs and the available resources, and despite making cost cuts throughout our programs, we have no choice but to seek tuition and fee increases in order to maintain the quality of education our students deserve,” he said.
The dollar amount increase for in-state student tuition is $542 and $1,832 for out-of-state students.
The percentages for the increase vary from university to university in the Tennessee system.
Chattanooga will experience a 9.3 percent increase in tuition while the campus at Martin will experience a 9.7 percent increase.
Tuition at the College of Veterinary Medicine will rise by 15 percent. Fiscal year 2006 will be the second year in a three-year program to raise tuition at the veterinary school by 15 percent. The tuition raise was considered necessary in order to fund new facilities for the college.
Tuition at the College of Law will rise by 13 percent as well.
All percentage increases quoted represent both in-state and out-of-state undergraduate students.
Petersen presented a total adjustment in the cost of living for an undergraduate student residing on campus to the board.
Cost of student living will increase by 7.7 percent from 2005, from $9,746 to $10,500. The figures take into account tuition, housing costs, meal plan, program and services fee, technology fee, transportation fee and facility fee.
“The bottom line is the total cost for an in-state undergraduate student living on campus in Knoxville, including tuition, housing, room and board and all other fees will increase just 7.7 percent in the budget proposal we are making. That represents an increase of $754, almost half of which can be covered by the $300 increase in lottery scholarship,” Petersen said.
The legislature passed a bill last session to increase the HOPE lottery scholarship amount by $300, to a minimum $3,300 and a maximum $4,800.
During the finance and administration committee meeting Thursday morning before the full board met and voted, committee members discussed the impact on students of the proposed tuition increase and alternatives to the increase.
According to figures presented in the committee meeting, the university spends $7,795 per student, a ratio that is below the average spent by the university’s peer institutions at $8,441. Administrative expenditures per student are also below the average spent by peer institutions at $1,621 versus $1,734.
Petersen spoke about the university’s responsibility to its students in light of these figures.
“We should deliver to our students every bit as much as is delivered by our peer institutions.”
The University of North Carolina, the University of Florida and the University of Kentucky are considered among The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s peers.
Petersen presented alternatives to the tuition increase that covered cutting the number of faculty and staff, severely limiting new student enrollment and increasing the number of out-of-state students who pay higher tuition than do in-state students. One member of the board spoke about the alternatives.
“None of those are acceptable options in my opinion,” D. Lynn Johnson said. “I’m not comfortable voting for a tuition increase, but it’s our only choice,” he said.
