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DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TUITION POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Tuition Policy Advisory Committee has presented the following report and recommendations to President Faulkner for consideration, and to the Faculty Council for discussion at its meeting on October 20, 2003.
<Signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The Faculty Council
Posted on the Faculty Council Web site (http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/) on October 16, 2003. Paper copies are available on request from the Office of the General Faculty, FAC 22, F9500.
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BACKGROUND
At its inaugural meeting on September 2, 2003, you charged the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee with the task of recommending to you a tuition policy that meets the core financial needs of the university for the spring and summer of 2004 and the academic year 2004-05. In this regard, the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee held 14 meetings from September 2 to present, it published the materials reviewed at each of those meetings on the public Website, took public comments over the Web during the entire period and held one public hearing open to students, faculty and staff.
In addition to the materials gathered and public input obtained, the Committee reviewed in detail the six-year budget projections for the core financial needs of the university (see Appendix). These needs included such items as the need to address the repair and renovation/deferred maintenance of the university, critical academic and infrastructure capital projects, competitive salaries for staff and faculty, continued progress towards reducing the student/faculty ratio, and new academic initiatives.
Two fundamental principles guided the Committee’s deliberations: the academic quality of the university, and retaining access to and affordability of the university for all Texans. Summarized below are the recommendations of the Committee.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee has concluded that the university should institute a new Academic Sustainability Tuition. Assessment of the new Academic Sustainability Tuition should commence for the spring 2004 semester and continue thereafter. The Academic Sustainability Tuition should be charged to all full-time students as a fixed amount and it should be charged in addition to all tuition and fees already charged under current policies. Part-time students should be charged a prorated amount of the full-time rate. For the 2004-05 academic year, Academic Sustainability Tuition should be charged in addition to normal tuition and fees (the normal tuition includes the statutorily mandated $2 per semester credit hour increase in base tuition for resident students in 2004-05 and the non-resident base tuition rate to be established by the Coordinating Board for 2004-05).
For spring 2004, the Committee recommends that to maintain the academic quality of the university, the Academic Sustainability Tuition should be set at an amount that will provide the university an additional $13 million over the 2003-04 budget. For a full-time resident
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undergraduate student (students taking 12 or more SCH per semester), the Academic Sustainability Tuition for spring 2004 would be $361. This represents an increase of 13.3% over the current average cost of education (tuition and fees).
For the 2004-05 academic year, the Committee recommends that to maintain the academic quality of the university, the Academic Sustainability Tuition be set to provide an additional $52 million over the 2003-04 budget. For a full-time resident undergraduate student, the Academic Sustainability Tuition for each semester of the 2004-05 academic year would be $722 per semester. This represents an increase of 12.7% over the new proposed spring 2004 average cost of education (tuition and fees). The complete Academic Sustainability Tuition rates for full-time and part-time undergraduate resident and non-resident students and for full-time and part-time graduate resident and non-resident students are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1 – Spring 2004
SEM Credit Hrs Resident Non-Resident Undergraduate Full-Time 12+ Hours (Fixed) 361 397 Part-Time
8-11 Hours (Fixed) 289 318 1-7 Hours (Prorated) 1st Hour 108 119 Each Additional Hour 18 20
GraduateFull-Time 9+ Hours (Fixed) 361 397 Part-Time
1-8 Hours (Prorated) 1st Hour 108 119 All Other Hours 32 35
Table 2 – Fall/Spring 2004-05
SEM Credit Hrs Resident Non-Resident Undergraduate Full-Time 12+ Hours (Fixed) 722 794 Part-Time
8-11 Hours (Fixed) 578 636 1-7 Hours (Prorated) 1st Hour 217 238 Each Additional Hour 36 40
GraduateFull-Time 9+ Hours (Fixed) 722 794 Part-Time
1-8 Hours (Prorated) 1st Hour 217 238
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In order to maintain access and affordability of the university to all Texans, the Committee recommends that an amount be set aside of approximately 28% of each dollar of Academic Sustainability Tuition for need-based financial aid. The Academic Sustainability Tuition amounts shown in Tables 1 and 2 include a 23% set-aside for financial aid in addition to a 5% set-aside for the Texas B-on-Time Program. The financial aid set-aside will permit the university to provide grant aid to all students eligible to receive financial aid such that eligible students from families with $40,000 or less family income will have 100% of the Academic Sustainability Tuition covered by grant aid, eligible students with family incomes between $40,001 and $60,000 will have 75% of their Academic Sustainability Tuition covered by grant aid and eligible students from families with income between $60,001 and $80,000 will have approximately 50% of their Academic Sustainability Tuition covered by grant aid.
The projected financial need of the university for the spring and summer of 2004 is
$13 million. The Committee’s understanding is that the recommended increase in Academic Sustainability Tuition for spring and summer of 2004 allows the university to address important quality needs of the university and will be primarily devoted to funding long-delayed and pressing repair and renovation / deferred maintenance. For the 2004-05 academic year, the projected core financial need is $85.8 million. The recommended $52 million from the Academic Sustainability Tuition will allow the university to sustain the strong legacy of academic programs and physical facilities provided by those who have come before us. This level of funding will not provide the resources necessary for the university and the State of Texas to compete at the highest levels nationally. To achieve this level of excellence, the balance of $33.8 million will require that the university continue to seek additional non-tuition-based sources of funds and reduce costs to meet its needs. The Committee strongly recommends that the university proceed aggressively with its ongoing budget assessment and the search for alternative sources of funding.
The attached Appendix provides detailed back-up support for these recommendations.
Respectfully Submitted:
<Signed>
Sheldon Ekland-Olson,
Executive VP & Provost, Committee Co-Chair
<Signed>
Kevin P. Hegarty
VP/Chief Financial Officer, Committee Co-Chair
<Signed>
Donald W. Drumtra
Graduate Student Assembly Representative
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<Signed>
Marvin L. Hackert
Chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee on Budgets
<Signed>
Brian J. Haley
Student Government President
<Signed>
Raymond “Rusty” Bert Ince III
Senate of College Councils Representative
<Signed>
Richard W. Lariviere
College of Liberal Arts, Dean
<Signed>
Victoria Rodriguez
Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies
<Signed>
Roberta Nichol “Nikki” Starr
Student Representative at Large
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Appendix
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