 "Photo: Andrea Lai")
Administrators and the four student representatives from the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee delivered a clear message to concerned students at the second tuition forum Thursday: There isn't any other way.
During the two-hour forum, about 20 undergraduate, law school and former students questioned the necessity of a nearly $300 per semester tuition increase proposal submitted to University President William Powers last month, which would be effective for the next two academic years.
"We don't get a say in the [UT System] board of regents and the legislature," said Graduate Student Assembly President and advisory council member Brian Gatten to a fluctuating audience of about 150 students who trickled in and out of Hogg Memorial Auditorium. "Our job is to work within that system, and we can't do much else."
Responses from the student portion of the council, as well as from the president, chief financial officer and provost, reaffirmed the conclusion of the proposal: In order to maintain the quality of education at UT, as well as its competitiveness in the face of increased expenses due to inflation and lack of state funding, the University must raise tuition.
Many who addressed the council and University officials said the University should be concerned with its affordability, rather than its competitiveness.
"Debts are increasing, and, as most of us who have debts know, it's done to enslave people," said geosciences senior David Bradley. "When you have a debt, you cannot do what you want. You have to work and are forced into bad situations. Education should be free."
The student representatives - comprised of Gatten, Student Government President Andrew Solomon, Senate of College Councils Chair Stephen Myers and communication and education senior Yvette Garza - emphasized the student perspective and said that the tuition increases are in the best interest of not only the University, but students with families who depend on the UT grant program to pay tuition. The grant program offers financial assistance to more than 12,000 UT students whose families make $80,000 a year or less.
"I think that we absolutely had students in mind partly because ... all of us are students as well," Gatten said. "One of our major goals was to keep UT-Austin affordable for those who are least able to afford it with the UT grant program. It sounds counterintuitive to say that raising tuition makes it more affordable, but because this UT grant program is funded by tuition, we have to take this money from somewhere to fund that."
Wednesday's forum in the Applied Computational Engineering and Sciences Building drew in about the same number of people but sparked more heated discussion than Thursday's debate. The criticisms revolved around the same idea of emphasizing affordability rather than recruitment of top faculty in order for the University to remain a top research institution. Some at the forum pointed out they may be the best researchers but not be the best teachers.
"Do these buildings exist for students that are here?" asked journalism senior Ansel Herz, a member of the Tuition Accountability Coalition. "What I keep hearing is that UT needs to be competitive with other schools around the country. I keep hearing as well in the statements of TPAC that we need to be the best public research institution or that we have to maintain a standard of academic performance. Sure, but if you can't afford to go to UT, you can't enjoy any of that education."
Powers will submit a final recommendation to the UT System Board of Regents in December, who will vote on the proposal as early as February.
Be the first to comment on this article!