NEWS | October 9, 2003

Students would bear the burden
Student Congress will hold an open forum next week to gauge opinions.

By Brad Rollins
The Shorthorn managing editor

Josh Humphrey doesn’t mind at all that tuition is going up in the spring — and then again in the fall — and quite possibly each semester thereafter.

He blows off news of a proposal being considered now that would increase the cost of designated tuition for most courses by about 75 percent by next fall. Nor does it concern the industrial engineering student that his college is targeted for some of the steepest increases — 120 percent in a year — under the plan.

For 12 semester credit hours of upper-level courses, Humphrey would have paid about $1,100 in total tuition this semester not counting, of course, student fees. This time next year, the price tag for the same classes would be about $1,764.

That’s an extra $664. Humphrey says it doesn’t bother him.

“It’s not really a big deal. It’s been going up for years. It’s not going to affect me at all,” he said. Then he explained: “I’m a senior. I’m graduating.”

For those who aren’t walking the stage in December like Humphrey, the increases are more troublesome.

For administrators who proposed the increases, they are also troublesome. The alternative, they say, is worse.

“Frankly, we are jeopardizing the quality of education we offer students if things go much further as they are,” said interim Provost Dana Dunn. “We are looking for the very smallest increase possible that will still address the most urgent of our needs. It’s a very difficult decision. It’s a very delicate balancing act.”

Since last spring, when state lawmakers approved a sweeping overhaul of the way tuition rates are set, the central question has been clear: How much — not whether — the cost of going to college will increase.

Under the old system, both designated and statutory tuition was set every two years by the Legislature, which resisted more than incremental increases. Under deregulation, statutory tuition is still set by the Legislature, but each university or system sets the per-hour rate for designated tuition.

For UT System universities, the final call will be made by the Board of Regents at its Nov. 18 meeting in Austin. But the process starts on campus with the Tuition Review Committee, an 18-member advisory body.

Last week, the committee heard Dunn’s bonafide proposal — initial hard numbers — for the first time. Next week, they will hear student input at an open forum Oct. 15 in SC chambers. A day later, they will begin deliberating how much of an increase they want to forward to interim President Charles Sorber.

Josh Warren, Student Congress president and the committee’s chair, said the direction of those deliberations will depend on how students respond.

“Now its up to students. They’ve been given a voice in the process, and now it’s up to them whether they use it. My position will be the students’ position,” Warren said.

Some students’ positions may be their parents’ position. Andrea Phillips said her parents foot the bill for her tuition, so she does not anticipate a hit on her personal pocketbook.

“I don’t think they’re going to like it,” the art and art history freshman said. “But I don’t think it’s going to affect me much.”

Sarah Anderson’s parents don’t pay for her school; she is the parent. The English sophomore works at least 40 hours a week working the cash register at a Fort Worth Target store. She’s barely making ends meet as it is. The increases may be the last straw.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back,” she said. “It may be too much.”

But Warren says students like Anderson have the chance to influence the decision.

“We’re waiting to hear from you,” he said.

If many students are like Keary Miller, the tuition hikes won’t be welcomed warmly.

“It’s going to be tough: More expenses, less money,” said Miller, an accounting junior. “I just don’t think it should be going up. The money is coming in. They’ll make it work. We do.”

Like a majority of students who depend on some form of grants or loans, Miller says she pays for classes through federal financial aid. But if her calculations are correct, her grant won’t cover the increase.

“My financial aid has been going down every year,” Miller said. “And tuition goes up.”

— Staff writer Rajal Vashisht contributed to this article.

Time to pass Senate bill ‘getting short’
A student loan bill stalled on the state Senate’s floor may be passed as an amendment to a House finance bill. An aide to the bill’s sponsor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said time is running out to gain passage of Senate Bill 24, which would alter how much money universities must set aside for need-based financial aid programs.

The legislature’s third special session, called primarily to redraw congressional districts, is scheduled to adjourn Oct. 15.

“We’re getting short on time. If it’s going to happen, it will be soon,” said the aide to Sen. Florence Shapiro, who wrote the legislation.

Shapiro was not available for comment, her spokesperson said. A spokesperson for Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, did not return requests for comment.

Dana Dunn, the university’s interim provost, has said she would likely recommend a slight reduction in proposed tuition raises if the bill passes. The current tuition increase proposal calls for a $15-per-credit-hour increase in spring 2004 and an additional $20 in the fall.

“Right now, we’re just waiting to see what the legislature does,” Dr. Dunn said. “If it doesn’t pass, our proposal will stand as it is.”

The B-On-Time loan program, passed in the spring, requires five cents of every dollar raised from increased tuition be set aside to reimburse students for college loans if they maintain a 3.0 grade point average and graduate within four years.

Passed later in the session, tuition deregulation legislation mandated an additional 20 cents per dollar increase will be set aside for other need-based financial aid. The current bill makes the 5 percent part of — not an addition to — the 20 percent already set aside. Consequently, universities would be able to keep 5 percent more of revenue gained by tuition increases.

— Brad Rollins

SPEAK UP
The committee’s chair says the group wants student input on the current proposal. Here’s how to reach them:

• Josh Warren, chair and Student Congress president
(817) 538-6320
josh@uta.edu

• Bryan Shaner, Business Administration
(817) 775-8012
bls0154@hotmail.com

• Jona Mathis, Education
(817) 714-1176
jona_1@earthlink.net

• Samuel Odamah, Architecture
(817) 272-6863
designdelight@msn.com

• Jeremy Ikeogu, Engineering
(214) 335-8933; (817) 861-1397
dzx193@yahoo.com

• James Urban, Liberal Arts
(817) 557-3314
jd_urban@yahoo.com

• Perla Canales, Nursing
(817) 272-6658
chica_bonita_0283@yahoo.com

• Sherry Monk, Science
(817) 729-9382
sherryzeta@yahoo.com

• Cecelia Angasan, Social Work
(817) 202-9136
cvta_904@msn.com

• Nicole Walther, Graduate Student Senate
(817) 308-0901
karennicole77@hotmail.com

• Judy Reinhartz, Faculty Senate
817) 272-2187
jreinhartz@uta.edu

• Bill Crowder, Undergraduate Assembly
(817) 272-3147
crowder@uta.edu

• Perry Fuchs, Graduate Assembly
(817) 272-3427
fuchs@uta.edu

• Judy Varnell, Staff Advisory Council
(817) 272-3365
jvarnell@uta.edu

• Joanne Jensen, Parent Representative
(972) 436-5528
joannej@stphilipcc.org

• Crystal Hall, Recent Graduate
(817) 272-6585
chall@uta.edu

• Rusty Ward, Interim Vice President for Business Affairs and Controller
(817) 272-2102
ward@uta.edu

• Kent Gardner, Vice President for Student Affairs
(817) 272-6080
kgardner@uta.edu

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