Tuition hike approved by Board of Trustees
By Jacque Nguyen
Staff Reporter

The Board of Trustees approved a $230 million budget and a tuition increase of nearly 8 percent at the winter meeting Friday.

Vice Chancellor of Finance and Business Carol Campbell said the budget will go into effect June 1. She said this is an increase of $10 million from the current $220 million budget.

Campbell said the budget increase is due to cost increases caused by the current condition of the economy. She said cost increases include those associated with new buildings and an increase in interest payments on the university’s debt.
The flat-rate tuition and fees for the 2003-2004 school year will be $17,590, Campbell said. That is a 7.9 percent increase from this year’s tuition and fees of $16,340.

This increase was not as big as last year’s 8.7 percent increase, the largest in university history.

The price jump will also affect the students who are not on flat-rate tuition, Campbell said. She said the students who are currently paying a flat rate of $455 a semester hour will have to pay $490 an hour — a 7.7 percent increase — starting in the summer semester.

“TCU is still among the lowest priced private universities in Texas and the country,” Chairman of the Board John Roach said.

Roach said the tuition increase is necessary because the Board and the university want faculty to receive a salary increase. He said the increase in faculty positions is limited because of the current economy.

Roach declined to comment if the university was leaning toward a hiring freeze.

The Board also increased funding for financial aid by $2 million.

Campbell said the amount of financial aid offered will increase from $36 million to $38 million.

She said faculty and staff have part of their annual salary put into an account to be received upon retirement.

For the current budget, hourly staff receive 10.5 percent of their salary to be put into retirement accounts, Campbell said. When the new budget goes into effect, the portion of salary going toward retirement for non-exempt faculty and staff will be raised to 11.5 percent, she said.

Salaried staff and faculty already received 11.5 percent.

“We have achieved full parity,” Campbell said.

Campbell said $1.7 million of the budget will be reallocated to higher priorities, including various academic areas, salary increases, health and insurance costs and new buildings.
Trustee Roger Williams said the budget is aggressive and pro-active. He said the economic slump is nothing out of the ordinary and that all universities are going through budget tightening at this time.

“TCU is the employer and the customers are the students,” he said. “The employers have to be able to satisfy their customers.”

The spring meeting will be April 10 and April 11.

Jacque Nguyen
j.f.nguyen@tcu.edu