Blog Stage 7: Texas Universities Tuition Increase

According to the Austin American Statesman, Texas Universities are trying to devise a plan to appease Governor Perry after his criticism regarding how universities spend their money. The boards are considering the idea of raising tuition 2.6 percent for residential undergraduates and 3.6 percent for non-resident undergraduates. This plan will raise millions of dollars that will help improve academic advising and expand classes/programs made to help students graduate in four years. 

While this could be a beneficial change for the universities, the stress of being able to afford this will cause more problems for most of the families that already need financial assistance. Unless the universities are willing to distribute more scholarships or provide substantial financial assistance, students will be forced to take out loans and eventually graduate in four years with thousands of dollars in debt. How is a university supposed to sell itself to a student knowing that when he or she walks away, they are taking added expenses that should have been aided or paid for from the beginning? The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M have the Permanent University Fund which provides extra funds for academic and university expenses. The remaining public universities in Texas do not receive money from this fund and therefore do not have as much room to spare when it comes to where their money is spent. It is the job of the university to manage their spending in ways that benefit the quality of education for each student as well as any activities associated with (or funded by) the school. If they have been able to produce successful students before with tuition being less than it is today, they should be able to provide the same, if not better, quality of education (i.e. better technology, more classes, department advances, internships) with the increase in tuition since then.

The whole concept of attending a university is get the education that will award the student with the bachelor or master degree in which so many companies and businesses now require. With that in mind, is Governor Perry implying that the those who have already graduated from Texas universities within the past 10, 15, 20 years lack the academic essentials necessary to succeed in today’s society? Clearly, there are thousands of Texas university alumni from the 70’s and 80’s who have built independent businesses or professional careers with the help of their degrees without paying a ridiculous amount in tuition.