The Tuition and Fees Review Committee is near completing its recommendation to UH President Renu Khator regarding possible tuition and fee increases for the fall semester, student representatives said Tuesday.
"The committee has agreed on a number of things," student representative Samuel Dike, vice president of the Student Government Asso ciation, said.
The final meeting of the Tuition and Fees Review Committee was closed to reporters in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Law, which allows advisory committees to close their meetings to the public.
"Not all meetings are open," Donald Foss, vice president of Academic Affairs, said at the previous meeting on Thursday.
Foss also said Thursday that he would provide information to the Daily Cougar on Tuesday regarding the committee’s recommendation but did not return multiple calls or e-mails as of press time.
Dike and SGA President David Rosen, another student representative on the committee, said that the body will include part of SGA’s five-point plan to curb increasing tuition and fee costs in its recommendation.
The committee agreed to recommend expanding the family contract from $25,000 to $30,000, allowing more families to qualify for financial aid based on family income. The committee will also recommend offering students two classes for the price of one during the Summer IV semester, Dike said.
The original SGA plan included decreasing summer tuition by half, freezing tuition rates for the fall semester for one year, guaranteeing tuition rates for incoming students, capping tuition increases by six percent and expanding the family contract from $25,000 to $40,000.
SGA proposed the plan to encourage University officials to fund UH programs more creatively and critically, Rosen said.
The committee will support either the tuition cap or the guaranteed tuition rate, Dike said.
According to a tentative schedule, public tuition and fee forums will meet during the last week of February.
After Khator makes recommendations to the UH System Board of Regents, the Board is expected to pass final approval on any tuition increases the week of March 10 by administration officials, according to the committee schedule.
