Eltife cosponsors bill to stifle skyrocketing tuition

Texas Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, says he supports freezing college tuition rates so working class families can afford higher education for their children.

Eltife is a co-sponsor for Senate Bill 105, a tuition bill pre-filed on the first-day of the 81st Legislative Session by Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa.

The bill would establish a two-year moratorium on tuition rate increases and limit future increases to key economic indicators.

The proposed law also would allow legislative evaluations and increases in fees and designated tuition charged by public institutions of higher education.

“I think that this bill is a concern for students,” Eltife said. “More than ever we need to make college more affordable and we are currently headed in the wrong direction in this state.”

The senator said he hopes legislators will not increase tuition after the two years is up.

“We need to put a full-court press on getting this under control,” he said.

Eltife said legislators cannot blame college and universities for the rising cost of tuition.

“I think the escalation in tuition has been out of control. We have been pricing students out of tuition for too long now,” he said. “We have got to get some kind of control on the runaway tuition.”

Following the two-year moratorium, the universities Board of Regents for Texas could increase tuition rates only once a year. Any increase would be capped by the yearly increase in the Consumer Price Index, an inflation tracker, according to information released from Sen. Hinjosa’s office.

The amount of tuition the governing board of an institution of higher education charges to a student for an academic year cannot exceed the total amount of tuition that the governing board would have charged under this section to a similarly situated student in the preceding academic year, according to SB 105.

As for student-related fees, the bill would allow only those approved by a majority of student voters unless they are required or allowed by statute, according to a press release by Hinojosa.

For University of Texas at Tyler students, the current designated tuition rate is set at $95 per semester credit hour for undergrad students, which means a student taken 12 semester hours, totals $1,140 per semester for tuition alone.

An undergraduate’s total bill for a 12-hour semester if $2,382 — a cost which includes designated tuition, and fees for automated services, international education, basic computer access, the performing arts center, recreational facilities, records, medical services, the student union, and intercollegiate athletics.

“We have raised tuition but less than the amount of the state average. Our tuition and fees are still below the state average and yet we are a school that performs above the state average,” President Rodney Mabry said regarding information from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “I don’t think that our tuition is too high for the students but on the other hand I would like to stop raising tuition.”

Mabry said the data in the tuition moratorium bill is somewhat misleading at first glance.

“I guess I am torn regarding whether to be for or against the moratorium on tuition increases, he said. “One reason is because there is missing data in that we do not know how much funding for higher education we’ll get from the legislature for the period of the moratorium. In particular, if UT Tyler could get some kind of modest 2 or 3 percent increase in state dollars per student, then it would make it easier for us to hold the line on tuition.”

Since the 78th Regular Session in 2003 when the regents of the state public university systems set tuition rates, the combined tuition and fees at four-year universities have increased 53 percent, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

“Of course, it concerns me a great deal,” Mabry said. “In fact, I have often said that if we could get the same operating dollars per FTE [full-time equivalent] student from the State that we had in 2003 when the legislature deregulated tuition, UT Tyler would be happy to roll back its tuition to what it was then. That is, we would rescind all of our increases.”

Student Government Association president Kerrie Ambort said as a member of the student body on campus, she understands how tuition rates can affect students. “As a student, I understand that the cost of tuition is extremely high right now,” she said. “It is a constant struggle between UT-Tyler specifically to be able to provide the quality education and make it affordable. If it is something that is set and if it lowers the price of college it might lower the quality of the education in which the students are receiving.”

Ambort said there is a downside to the proposed tuition freeze.

“If we take the institution’s ability to set their tuition that, then in turn, could possibly lower the standard or the competitiveness that they universities provide,” she said.

“Constantly raising tuition again would make it tough for students, but I hope the administration would counteract that with providing more opportunities for students.”

Mabry said the tuition moratorium bill has some good points, but keeping the integrity of the campus is an ultimate goal.

“I feel for our students, but I also want to protect the quality of the University,” he said.

By Joseph Elerson Staff Writer