The cost of attending the University of Texas at San Antonio could rise by 9.2 percent to $4,395 per semester for a full-time student in the next two years under a proposal up for approval this week.
Set to go before the University of Texas System's board of regents Wednesday, the proposal increases tuition and fees by 4.5 percent in 2010 and 2011.
If UTSA students approve a $12-per-semester transportation fee increase this month, the cost could go up even more, to $4,407 per semester in 2011.
State lawmakers asked that public universities hold increases to 3.95 percent per year, but the resolution was not binding.
UT institutions adhered to that limit but excluded fees approved before the resolution passed, said Janet Parker, UTSA's associate vice president for finance.
In 2007, UTSA students passed a referendum to boost an athletics fee to fund a new football team, increasing the fee from $156 per semester to $180 this fall and $204 in 2011.
Dan Branch, R-Dallas and chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, said the legislators' resolution did not specify whether universities should exclude fees put in place before the resolution.
“To be fair, (most institutions) are keeping their increases lower than their peers in other states with double-digit increases,” Branch said.
A committee of 20 UTSA students and faculty recommended the tuition increase, which will generate around $8 million to $9 million per year.
The money will be used to cover increased operating costs, recruit and retain faculty, lower the school's student-to-faculty ratio and further its goal to become a Tier One research university.
Per state law, around $1.5 million each year will be added to the $7.2 million financial aid budget, Parker said.
Since 2004, tuition revenue has helped lower the number of students per faculty member from 24.7 to 22.1, despite a 9 percent bump in enrollment, according to UTSA's tuition Web site.
In addition to a jump in tuition and athletics fees, the university might tack on the extra $12 to the transportation fee by 2011 to expand shuttle services. That increase will go before student voters in mid-March.
The price of parking permits also might rise significantly to build a 1,200-space parking garage. For a commuter student, the price would go up from $80 per year to $105 this fall and $130 in 2011.
“We had a very thoughtful and mature group of students (on the tuition committee),” Parker said. “They understood that in order for the university to grow and meet some of its aspirations, that level of support is appropriate.”
But as public universities continue to raise tuition year after year, many students are growing exasperated and debt-ridden.
“It's ridiculous, charging this much for school when we need an education to work,” said Luciano Islas, 19, a sophomore from McAllen.
Saurabh Pande, 18, a freshman from Houston, said he will have to transfer after this year because he cannot afford to take out more loans.
He came in part because of the UT name but thinks he might have more luck getting financial aid at Texas State University in San Marcos or at the University of Houston.
“It's a good school, but I'm not willing to pay that much more for the education,” Pande said.