A hurricane of change has tumbled the financial world of UH and some undergrads feel like their voice has been swept from underneath their feet.
Students feel that Gov. Rick Perry’s line-item vetoes that denied the UH System hundreds of thousands of dollars in special programs funding and the Board of Regents’ unanimous approval for a tuition increase in the coming academic year came without warning.
In the last 10 years, state funding of UH’s budget has diminished 25 percent from 39 percent . In the last six years, tuition as been raised by nearly $2,000.
Additionally, the cost of attending UH has been increased by $13 per undergraduate semester hour beginning in August. Although that amount seems small on its own, it accumulates to nearly $200 more per semester for a student enrolled in 15 credit hours.
According to College For All Texans, with this new tuition rate, UH will now cost, on average, more than Texas A&M and The University of Texas at Austin – two public universities that receive more funding from Texas than we do.
As we see less financial support from the state, a rise in the cost of tuition is inevitable. Students feel it is an insult to approve an increase without first including them in greater dialogue. To those who are hearing about the matter after it has already been passed makes the dip into their wallets all the worse.
We understand that raising tuition is one of the steps needed to make and keep UH a competitive name against other universities in the state. Yet, administration needs to ensure that students are adequately warned and given a greater opportunity to speak out before plunging its hands further into students’ pockets.
