Utah Tech University’s annual Truth in Tuition hearing March 7 allowed everyone the opportunity to learn more about tuition costs and student fees.
Devon Rice, student body president, and Bryant Flake, executive director of planning and budget, spoke about the proposed tuition and student fees for the 2023-2024 school year.
Flake said: “For the current school year that we are in, we had a 4% tuition increase that was approved by the Utah Legislature at the beginning of 2022. Also in the 2022 legislative session, we received a 12% increase to our state appropriation fund which has gone to creating new programs and positions while also allowing us to keep up with other inflation costs.”
Ongoing needs that will be funded by the state appropriation fund this year are:
- Compensation increases for full and part-time faculty and staff
- Utah Tech athletics division I transition
- Pluralsight partnership
This year, a tuition increase freeze for Utah Tech has been recommended by Gov. Spencer J. Cox and is being supported by the Utah Board of Higher Education.
“The state of Utah has had a very strong economy over the last few years and state revenues have been solid,” Flake said. “The governor and other officials at the state level felt like this was the right time to freeze higher education tuition to try to give students and their families a break from inflation costs.”
Resident tuition is currently $2,633, and the state requires non-resident tuition to be at least three times more than resident tuition. Non-resident tuition at Utah Tech is approximately 3.2% higher than resident tuition, coming in at $8,418 per semester. Utah Tech is still the cheapest higher education university in Utah.
This freeze reigns true in regard to student fees as well. Student fees will continue to be held at $404 whether you are a resident or non-resident for the 2023-2024 school year.
“Student fees are intended to provide a benefit for all students on campus,” Rice said.
A proposal to increase the student building fee by $89 to help jumpstart the process of construction of the new Student Union building on campus did not pass. The building is estimated to cost around $70 million.
Rice said: “If a proposal goes through and we increase a student fee for anything, especially a capital project like a Student Union building that will cost over $8 million, we, as the student fee advisory board, have to open up a public student vote that must have the majority of voting personal in favor to be able for that project to go through and fees be changed. The student vote has to be accessible and publicized so that any student on campus can be able to vote. This ensures that student fees are going to assist students positively.”
The Utah Tech Board of Trustees review will be held March 10. Then, on March 23, the Utah Board of Higher Education review will finalize the proposal for tuition rates to remain unchanged for the fall of 2023.
