The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees voted Friday to increase tuition 7.5 percent for all undergraduate and graduate students, citing the need to cover fixed costs and fund the average 2 percent salary raise for university personnel.
Tuition at UT for in-state undergraduate students will increase from $1,892 per semester to $2,028 in the fall. In-state graduate students will pay $2,295 per semester this fall, an increase of $155.
During a tele-conference, UT President John W. Shumaker told board members the decision to raise tuition and fees was not an easy one.
“We do not take lightly the necessity or requirement to increase fees,” Shumaker said. “I think the recommendation that you have before you addresses the needs of our institutions while striking a necessary balance between access for Tennesseans and quality.”
The board members voted unanimously in favor of the tuition hike, following the recommended increase made by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
“We’re paying a lot of attention to quality issues, and this modest increase will help us continue that,” Shumaker said.
Tuition increased most for in-state students attending professional and health programs. The pharmacy program’s tuition jumped 28 percent, while dentistry and medicine increased 22 percent. Law students will pay an additional 7.5 percent for tuition, while tuition for veterinary medicine will be raised 10 percent.
“The critical element that we face, quite frankly, is that we are a net exporter, as it turns out, of highly qualified faculty members,” Shumaker said. “We are losing them at a very alarming rate to other universities.”
Shumaker said the problem of funding was “affecting Tennessee perhaps more severely than any other state in the country right now.”
However, he felt “encouraged” by the recognition of the THEC council Thursday that funding for the university was a long-term problem. The council agreed to take a comprehensive look at the entire mechanism and framework for funding higher education.
“That’s going to be a very important process because over time it might result … in a different strategy for funding higher education that will help us avoid these increases at this level in the future,” he said.
UT is not the only school in the region facing budget cuts. Shumaker said many of Tennessee’s peer institutions, specifically Kentucky, are facing an average 7 percent tuition increase as well.
“We’ve got to make sure we keep those faculty here, and a large portion of the tuition increase will go to getting faculty and staff salaries a bit (more) competitive,” he said.
Shumaker said he will talk with students, faculty, staff and others in the next few months to make sure every UT department is using its funding to the best of its ability.
“The jobs of the future require a better educated workforce, and we must not price higher education beyond the reach of average Tennesseans,” he said.
The board of trustees also approved an employee compensation plan that will implement some salary increases in addition to the state’s general salary raise of 2 percent.
The additional salary increase allows the university to recognize heavier workloads, reward exceptional accomplishments and achievements, address pay equity issues and acknowledge market realities to sustain UT’s workforce.
The trustees then passed a proposal that addressed the loss of salary and annual leave to UT employees during the partial shutdown. The plan allows employees normally scheduled to work between July 1 and July 3 to be paid for their scheduled work hours without having to use their annual leave, compensatory time or other leave balances.
Employees who worked during the furlough period will be provided hour-for-hour annual leave for actual hours worked.
However, the date for assessing the maximum leave balance (to be carried forward into the next year) will be shifted from Dec. 31, 2002 to June 30, 2003. From that date forward, any annual hours in excess of the maximum allowable carry forward amount will be transferred to sick leave.
