The state Board of Regents approved a 3 percent tuition increase for all state institutions next year. This means U students will pay at least $75 more, but administrators fear that the increase may be too small.
Economic hard times paint a bleak picture for state funding next year.
This year, the state has already taken back $54 million from higher education because of a $200 million tax revenue shortfall.
The question, “How large of a tuition increase will U students face?” is still far from answered.
Last year, Regents established a two-tier system for tuition increases.
The first tier is the 3 percent increase set by the Regents that is applied to all state institutions. Each institution then has the opportunity to increase its own. Regents must approve the institutions’ own tuition increases, called the second tier.
U President Bernie Machen believes the Regents missed the mark with their 3 percent increase saying, “It’s scary. We don’t know what funding we will be getting from the Legislature next year. We could be facing nothing.”
Machen and others felt that the 3 percent increase may be too small.
National inflation rates for the cost of education increased 4.8 percent, according to the Higher Education Price Index.
Associate Commissioner of Higher Education for Finance and Facilities, Norm Tarbox said although Utah’s inflation rate may not be as high, it is still a significant number.
Perhaps 3 percent will compensate for inflation, but Machen worries about increased operating costs and the significant enrollment growth at all state institutions this year.
U administrators listed enrollment growth funding as their top priority for the Legislature.
The Legislature is expected to complete funding packages during the legislative session before the Olympics.
Usually by December, the state’s economic situation is nearly finalized, and projections can be made about the next year’s fiscal budget, Machen said.
“Right now, it feels more like August,” he said.
Machen would not comment on how large of an increase U students should expect next year, but he was not the only one hinting that the Regent’s 3 percent increase is insufficient.
“I have some sense about what our costs are going to be, but I need to know what the Legislature is going to give us before I can get real specific about tuition,” Machen said.
Before approving the 3 percent increase, the Regents allowed themselves a chance to readdress the issue. They may increase their percentage before presenting it to the Legislature.
The 3 percent increase will bring in $5.6 million for Utah’s system of higher education, only $600,000 more than higher education lost from the state’s budget cut earlier this year.