Despite economic turmoil felt throughout the state of Texas costs of tuition continue to rise at Texas public universities. As the Texas Legislature searches for a solution to lower tuition costs some argue that caps on tuition would be a good solution for students and their parents.
State Senator Juan Chuy Hinojosa D-McAllen filed a bill to impose a two-year moratorium on tuition increases. State Senator Judith Zaffirini D-Laredo proposed a measure that would prohibit tuition increases of more than 5 percent annually by the Board of Regents.
Governor Rick Perry proposed a tuition freeze to last four years.
Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance recently told the Texas House Higher Education Committee that If you get us in a position we cannot raise rates and we dont get additional funds from the state we are going to become a Third-World state as far as higher education is concerned.
But the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) noted that one of the major cost drivers for tuition rates is the rising salaries of professors which have reached a state average of $106311 an increase of 50 percent since 1999.
House Speaker Joe Straus said in an interview with the Austin American Statesman that Personally we need to be very careful if we limit or cap increases. The funding has to come from somewhere."
While Straus emphasized that this was his personal belief evidence is mounting that tuition costs are skyrocketing and these rising costs cover increasing administrator perks salaries and benefits rather than expenses that directly benefit students.
CBS 11 News reported that Dr. Gretchen Bataille University of North Texas President receives a $10000-per-year car allowance $300 American Airlines Admirals club membership $30000-per-year-salary supplement and a $50000-per-year housing allowance. These perks are on top of her $353000 annual salary.
Bataille said in an interview with CBS 11 News that Perks really are the things I need to get my job done.
In a time where there are nationwide layoffs and home foreclosures and outrage over taxpayer funded bonuses for CEOs on Wall Street university presidents are still taking in taxpayer funded perks and bonuses.
Elizabeth Young Higher Education Policy Analyst with TPPF says universities should be more transparent about what they spend money on taxpayers still have few tools to learn how universities use their money. In the past eight years the average operating cost per student has increased by $3853 even though state appropriations have remained relatively constant" she said.
Others argue the way to fix rising tuition costs is to end tuition deregulation.
Administrators will claim that our state government has not accommodated them. Theyll often stretch the facts to allege that state funding has gone down. But research will show that state funding has remained relatively stable and in fact has grown slightly over the last decade.
The growth may not have kept pace with rapidly expanding budgets but higher education certainly hasnt been shortchanged said Tony McDonald Vice Chairman of Legislative Affairs of the Young Conservatives of Texas.
