Fall 2020 incoming freshmen at UTRGV will pay more after The University of Texas System Board of Regents set tuition increases for all its academic institutions, according to an email sent to the university community on Nov. 15.
Universities with a variable-tuition plan will increase their tuition 2.6% annually totaling to at least 10.4% over a four-year period. Institutions with a fixed rate, such as UTRGV, will have an increase of 7% over a four-year period, according to the email.
“The increase will not affect current UTRGV undergraduate or graduate students because of the university’s four-year, guaranteed tuition and fees,” the email states. “However, starting Fall 2020, all new undergraduate and graduate students will pay a 7% increase in tuition.”
The increase will not affect UTRGV’s Tuition Advantage students with a household income of less than $75,000, according to the email.
Students in their fifth year of college will not be affected by the 7% increase, according to Patrick Gonzales, associate vice president for University Marketing & Communications and university spokesman.
“Students not graduating within the guaranteed period will shift to the lowest rates available among all open (non-expired) plans,” Gonzales said in an email sent to The Rider Thursday. “The new rates may be lower (but never higher) than the rates applicable to entering students.”
UT System Chancellor James Milliken said during the Nov. 14 regents meeting that it is the board’s interest to continue to maintain the affordability of the institutions for Texas students and their families.
Milliken said he met with the presidents from all institutions to discuss the affordability, high quality education and cost containment while still providing enough notice for family and students to plan.
“As a result of these discussions, we are proposing, at this meeting, that the board adopts an overall tuition rate for our academic campuses at the rate of inflation only based on the higher education index for institutions across the country, and that’s 2.6% and that would be an annual tuition increase for 2020 and 2021,” Milliken said.
Current students who take 12 credit hours pay $4,068 in tuition and mandatory fees at UTRGV. Incoming Fall 2020 freshmen will pay $4,461, a $393 difference, according to Gonzales.
Approximately $4.5 million will be generated from the increase each year, he said.
UTRGV President Guy Bailey said, in an interview with The Rider Wednesday, the university will hire more faculty and staff with the additional funds.
“We’re hiring 32 new advisors,” Bailey said. “That’s the first thing we’re doing. And the new advisors are crucial to our student success and we’re way out of whack with our current student advisor ratio and this will bring us into the recommended ratio. And so, the second thing we’re doing, we’re hiring additional faculty. We need to be able to offer more classes and sometimes you’re on the waiting list and so, we’re trying to expand the number of classes we offer, and we need new faculty to do that. So, that would be a second thing that the money is used for and then we’ll cover inflationary increases, too.”
The University Services fee will also have an increase for incoming Fall 2020 freshmen in support for academic advising.
“Students currently pay a $29.10 University Services Fee, the fee for incoming freshmen will be $38.10 and that $9 increase is in support for academic advising,” Gonzales said.
–Leslie Medrano contributed to this report
