Tuition is going up next year at Texas A&M University. How much is a point of contention.
The Board of Regents, meeting in Galveston, approved a plan Thursday that university administrators says amounts to a two percent increase for undergraduates, or an additional $89 dollars a semester.
The Texas Aggie Conservatives student group sent an e-mail stating the increase for some students will be more than $800 dollars a semester. Opponents said they submitted more than 1,100 letters from students, graduates, and parents to the regents by their meeting deadline. They also sent more than 1,300 letters to the Governor’s office. They were unsuccessful in getting the regents to postpone a decision until their May meeting in College Station.
Three students drove the 150 miles from College Station to Galveston to testify in the public hearing.
The Student Senate’s finance chairman, Cary Cheshire, drove to Galveston to tell the regents of a lack of communication in getting details of the plan. Cheshire also called on the regents to raise the university advancement fee instead of the designated tuition rate.
Austin Luce of Corpus Christi said after working the last two semesters, he is back in school. He called for letting students decide whether to opt in the guaranteed rate plan. Regent Jim Schwertner of Austin says it has to be one or the other.
Click HERE to listen to the public hearing on the A&M tuition and fee schedule
News release from the A&M System:
The Texas A&M University System today voted to establish guaranteed tuition and fee rates for all undergraduate students at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University – Galveston and the Texas A&M University Health Science Center. Beginning in the fall of 2014, the four-year rates will be locked in for incoming freshmen.
“The Board of Regents challenged the President and Provost to come forward with a plan that would simplify and bring transparency to otherwise multiple, confusing student fees,” said Board Chairman Phil Adams. “Our goal is to make this process as transparent as possible for parents and students while providing ample budget certainty for their four or five year degree plan.”
The program is designed to consolidate more than 7,000 student fees and combine them with a fixed tuition rate. It will create a single, fixed-rate for students from their freshman year through year four or five, depending on their degree plan and major. The program will also provide these institutions the same amount of money to fund academic programs and budget more precisely for future needs.
“Our universities understand that the people of this state expect an efficient use of their resources and we are all committed to provide that to them,” said John Sharp, chancellor of the A&M System. “This program is a great example of our sustained emphasis and dedication to that goal.”
Texas A&M University has historically offered very affordable tuition rates and is less expensive today than many other public, state universities in Texas. A recent study by economist Ray Perryman predicts that inflation will grow by nearly 3.6% over the coming years. In formulating this program, the A&M System Board of Regents has budgeted a much more conservative rate of 2.2%. The difference will be made up by efficiencies within this guaranteed budget process.
“I appreciate the Board taking action to eliminate the confusion regarding the student fee structure and for supporting the guaranteed tuition rate plan,” said Mark Hussey, interim president of Texas A&M. “All of us associated with the academic and financial aspects of the university have worked hard to keep tuition costs as low as possible in keeping with our ongoing commitment to offer a high-quality educational experience for our students. The new guaranteed tuition plan is in line with that commitment, and we believe it will meet the full intention of our state leaders who passed House Bill 29 with the desire to help students and their parents better plan for the cost of their full college education at the undergraduate level.”
Texas A&M Student Body President, Reid Joseph (class of ’14) added, “I believe that the guaranteed tuition and fee program approved by the Board of Regents will effectively allow students and parents to budget for college and provide stability in our unstable economy. In my opinion, it is also in the best interest of Texas A&M as it will allow key leaders to make future decisions based on a fixed amount of revenue.”
News release from Texas Aggie Conservatives:
At least 1,163 testimonies against the proposed Texas A&M tuition increases were submitted to the Texas A&M Board of Regents on Tuesday and early Wednesday. The Board of Regents will meet in Galveston Thursday to consider tuition reforms that will raise tuition by over $800 per semester for some students.
The Aggie Conservatives prepared graphs illustrating the impact of the proposed increases. For instance, freshmen in the College of Engineering can expect the cost of finishing college to increase by $4,122 if the tuition proposal passes. Freshmen in the College of Architecture can expect to pay an additional $4,912 to earn a degree from A&M. These graphs are included below.
“I’d imagine students have submitted a record number of testimonies to the Board of Regents, so I hope the Board does the right thing by postponing the vote until a better tuition policy is developed,” said Kelsey Magliolo, Executive Director of the Texas Aggie Conservatives.
“The proposed tuition reform will hurt many more students than it might help,” Magliolo said. “I’ve read through hundreds of the testimonies, and the hardships students say they will face because of the tuition increases are incredibly heartbreaking. I just don’t understand why the university administration would push for such hurtful policies when A&M is doing just fine financially.”
Most of the 1,163 testimonies were sent by A&M students, with around two dozen coming from parents or former students. Hundreds more submitted comments throughout the day Wednesday; however, the Board of Regents does not consider testimony sent within 24 hours of the meeting. Testimony was also sent to Governor Perry’s office. As of Wednesday evening, at least 1,350 comments had been sent to Perry, who appoints the A&M Regents.