Students will pay $105 more in tuition and mandatory fees next semester under a plan approved by the Texas A&M System Board of Regents on Friday. But tuition likely won't increase again the year after.
The 2.8 percent tuition hike is what Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin had asked for. It's the lowest in at least a decade, and university officials said it's believed to be the smallest this year of any major Texas public university.
Regents approved the increase, but with one amendment: The understanding is that tuition will be held flat the year after. A&M System Chancellor Mike McKinney requested the bargain, as regents have zeroed in on cutting higher education costs.
"It's going to be a challenge," Loftin said. "The biggest issue is going to be the uncertainty in state funding."
Some regents delivered stern warnings about the need to keep tuition affordable. Others voiced reservations about the plan approved.
"If we were to commit today to say zero increase next year, but our state appropriations went significantly down, I'm just afraid that we may have tied our hands by making that commitment," said Regent Jim Wilson.
McKinney responded, "I wish I was a better predictor of what the economy is going to be."
The heads of the 11-university A&M System's institutions went before the board, one by one, Friday morning and requested tuition increases. Most asked for 3.95 percent or near it.
The Legislature during its last session passed a nonbinding resolution urging university boards of regents to limit cost increases to 3.95 percent per year. University of Texas regents in March approved a 3.95 percent tuition increase for their schools.
At Texas A&M, Friday's increase translates to an additional $5.2 million in revenue for the College Station campus. Students will pay an additional $4.81 per semester credit hour. Undergraduate residents taking 15 credits will pay a total in tuition and mandatory fees of nearly $4,450.
Jacob Robinson, Texas A&M student body president, told regents students were in support of the increase.
"We as students want to invest in our education," he said. "We're willing to take a small increase now rather than get hit later."
The tuition hearing came a day after McKinney said he expects another reduction of 5 or 10 percent in state funding. That's on top of roughly $25 million in cuts Texas A&M University has already planned for.
In other action Friday, regents:
* Added a $16 million Olsen Field renovation project to the university's capital plan and approved $1.6 million in pre-construction services. Phased construction would allow for the stadium's continued use.
* Established the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, a multidisciplinary collaboration between Texas A&M University and the Health Science Center to discover cures for addiction, Alzheimer's, sleep disorders and to reduce pain after neural injury, according to documents. The institute would be funded through units within the university and the Health Science Center.
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