Business and Finance Committee Tuition Recommendations

The Business and Finance Committee of the Tennessee Board of Regents today voted to recommend to the full board that tuition at five TBR universities (APSU, ETSU, MTSU, TSU, and TTU) be increased by 6% beginning this fall, with tuition at the University of Memphis increasing by 7%. A 6% tuition increase is recommended at all community colleges and technology centers. Tuition at the U of M Law School would increase by 14%, at the ETSU school of medicine by 5%, and at the ETSU School of Pharmacy by 9%.

In the area of mandatory fees, the committee recommended the requested increases in fees for auxiliary enterprises, such as dormitories, which must cover all their expenses and the requested increases in fees approved by student referenda. The other fees recommended are for items where a critical need was demonstrated: a $10 per semester activity fee increase at ETSU, a $25 per semester athletic fee increase at MTSU, a $10 per semester campus access fee at TTU, and a $10 per year student activity fee at Northeast State Community College. A breakdown of mandatory fees by institution is attached and is also on the TBR website.

If approved by the board, taking both tuition and fees into account the average student’s bill would increase only 5.5% due to the low number of fee increases. The information attached includes institution by institution summaries of tuition and fee increases.

The full board will take action on the committee’s recommendations at its June 26 meeting, to be held at the TBR central office in Nashville. Today’s action on tuition recommendations was by a 6-1 vote, with Regent Millard Oakley voting no.

The Tennessee Board of Regents is the nation’s sixth largest higher education system, governing 45 post-secondary educational institutions. The TBR system includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 26 technology centers, providing programs in 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties to over 180,000 students.