NEWS | October 29, 2003

Tuition and Fees
Increase proposals may merge
The interim president says he is considering pushing back the bulk of the tuition hike.

By Chris Baggott
The Shorthorn staff

Interim President Charles Sorber says he is sympathetic to the Tuition Review Committee’s recommendation to push back the bulk of tuition increases to the fall so students can better prepare for the hike.

He said he is working on a compromise between the original, administration-backed proposal and the committee’s recommendation. The committee suggested students need more time to ready themselves for tuition hikes than administrators anticipated. During the final meeting last week, it cut the administration’s spring increase proposal nearly in half.

While Dr. Sorber declined to reveal specifics about his considerations, he said he will work to balance the university’s needs with consideration for student budgets. The committee researched the subject extensively to ensure it would be flexible for administrators to work with, he said.

“The Tuition Review Committee recognized the needs of the university in its proposal,” he said.

The committee proposed an $8-per-credit-hour increase in the spring and an additional $8 per credit hour in the fall. Administrators originally proposed an increase of $15 per credit hour in the spring and an additional $20 per credit hour next fall.

Sorber said he is considering changing the time frame of the increases. He said he is trying to figure out if the increases can be delayed.

“There was more of an effort to defer most of the increase to the fall, and we’ve embraced that,” Sorber said.

He will send his recommendation to UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof by Saturday. The chancellor will then present the recommendation to the UT System Board of Regents during its Nov. 18 meeting to set tuition rates.

Rusty Ward said he and Sorber are discussing both proposals to determine the best compromise. The interim vice president for business affairs and controller said Sorber may adjust the committee’s proposal.

“There may be a dollar or two adjustment,” Ward said. “But I think the vast majority of the increase will be pushed back to the fall.”

Administrators are trying to work with the committee’s plan, and he and Sorber are trying to come up with the best compromise, Ward said.

“We’re trying to remain true to at least the spirit of what the students wanted,” he said. “We’re trying to come up with the best possible mix of both plans.”

Ward said administrators have reviewed several alternate plans. Most of these plans are somewhere between the administration’s proposal and the committee’s, he said.

“We’ve had about 10 or 11 different ideas that are sort of compromises,” he said. “Most are closer to the Tuition Review Committee’s proposal than our original one.”

The committee’s recommendation included the creation of a new Student Operations Fee, which would be the sole source of funding for some programs, such as advising and admissions. This is one part of the committee’s proposal that likely won’t happen, Ward said, because it is too late to create a new fee for next semester.

If the committee’s recommendation isn’t forwarded as is, Committee Chairman Josh Warren said, it might take its case to the regents. The committee is allowed to do so. But, he said, the members are willing to accept a compromise.

“We wanted to take a rational approach,” he said. “At the same time, we discussed extensively in our meeting that we wanted to make a recommendation that was the best course of action for the university.”

Warren said it is too soon to talk about what actions may be taken until Sorber makes his recommendation.

“It all just depends on what Dr. Sorber recommends,” he said. “It’s hard to say, ‘We’re going to fight this all the way to the board of regents,’ before the recommendation is in.”

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