Despite talk of a statewide tuition freeze, so far only Texas Tech has adopted the pledge in the Lone Star State.
As of Tuesday’s Board of Regents meeting, UH students will pay 3.95 percent more in tuition in the fall semester.
Although the increase is well beneath the Student Government Association’s recommended cap of 6 percent, it does violate the recommended tuition freeze in SGA’s Five-Point plan.
Financial difficulties are a common problem for most students, but the increase of even the approximate $131 for full-time students is a strain during a recession.
The Board confined their hike to the smallest rise in a decade, but that may still be too much for some of our fellow Cougars.
With Gov. Perry’s signing of HB 51, UH’s tier one goal seems closer than ever. Plus, the release of Hurricane Ike repair funds allows UH to finally repair sections of the bedraggled campus.
As sweet as these triumphs are, we cannot afford to lose sight of the greatest asset we have at the University – the students. These increasing financial burdens, though they seem slight, have added up to a significant rise in tuition during the past decade.
In 1999, undergraduate tuition was $38 per credit hour. In 2009, it ranges from $155.50 to $472.80.
All of the tuition increases are incremental’ – they’re reasonable amounts and seem wise investments at the time. Yet, Texas students are slowly boiling in debt, despite greater earning ability through their education.
Achievement of flagship status will make our degrees more prestigious, but is now the best time to accelerate toward our goal?
Today, the $131 average increase may not appear to be a lot, but it represented the cost of tuition for a class 10 years ago.
Our Board of Regents may best serve our students by conserving our resources and slowly raising rates. Rushing ahead at the cost of our student’s ability to attend the university is counterproductive at best.
