UT’s tuition increase recommendation was first proposed by the nine-member Tuition Policy Advisory Committee, or TPAC, which met weekly starting in August. A report of the committee’s recommendations was then submitted to UT President William Powers Jr. in December. In the report, committee members estimated that the University would need to increase its tuition by 18 percent to address all critical priorities without making any budget cuts. However, they recommended a 3.95 percent increase because they felt an 18 percent increse would be unreasonable.  

“I think most importantly, this process has been done with the cooperation of our consumers of the product, who are the students,” Regent Janiece Longoria said. “Even with the proposed tuition increases, the education at our component institutions still remains accessible and affordable [while providing] a very high educational product.”

Powers said the proposal does not meet the long-term needs of the University but shows the commitment of students, faculty and administration to keep UT affordable.

“It meets very critical needs to keep our budget virtually flat going forward and it reflects a very important goal to not replicate what’s going on at other peer institutions in the country,” Powers said.

All the proposals submitted by the various system universities mirrored a bill that passed in the Texas House of Representatives in the summer but died in the Senate. The bill, proposed by Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education, proposed that all universities cap their tuition increase at 3.95 percent or at $140 per semester, whichever is greater. The bill states that student referendums, much like the Student Activities Center fee, can be excluded from the percentage increase.

Provost Steven Leslie, who co-chairs the committee, said the guidelines of Branch’s bill were not a critical part of the committee’s final decision.

“We didn’t start by looking at 3.95. We looked at the needs of the University,” Leslie said. “It was through a budget analysis that TPAC arrived at its decisions.”

The regents’ decision set tuition at System universities for the next two years, though they said they could possibly revisit the issue next year.

Kevin Hegarty, UT chief financial officer and a committee co-chair, said based on the state’s current economic condition, he believes the regents’ contingent decision is a wise move.

“It’s just a very cloudy picture at what level the state will be able to support higher education,” Hegarty said. “No matter what, the institutions they are responsible for are still capable of providing higher education.”

According to guidelines established by the regents, universities’ tuition advisory committees are required to present their proposals to students in a forum. TPAC held forums on Jan. 20 and 26, which Powers and members of the UT community attended. A few students strongly voiced opposition to the tuition increases, and the campus organization Stop the Cuts was formed shortly thereafter. The group will be holding a rally today on the West Mall to protest various University issues, including the tuition increase.

TPAC committee member and Senate of College Councils President Lauren Ratliff said she feels the challenge for the next committee will be to engage students earlier and more creatively.

“A lot of the opposition to TPAC’s proposal came as a result of misconceptions,” Ratliff said. “I think TPAC and the different student governments need to work to educate students on how the budget works and how the tuition-setting process works. All of that information is there. Students just need to be walked through it.”