by Jim Parsons
Daily Cougar StaffTexas students can revel in the knowledge that they pay one of the lowest tuitions for public universities in the nation. But how long can Texans make that claim? All indicators point to a regular rise in costs that will ensure that Texas' days of "cheap schooling" are numbered.
Although Texas students still pay considerably less than the national average cost, state legislation passed in 1995 indicates that the rise in costs will continue to accelerate.
The state legislature passed House Bill 815, which approved an annual tuition increase through the year 2001 and allowed universities to raise their general use fees until they are level with the cost of tuition, a measure which could drastically increase the cost of attending school in the state.
Both the tuition and the GUF increase, though unpopular, are necessary steps toward adequately funding Texas schools, said Dom Lewinsohn, former Students' Association vice president.
He said that if the GUF rise was not implemented, the amount of money in UH's coffers could have been "dramatically cut."
In order to receive funds from the state, public universities are expected to first take as much on-campus money as possible using methods allowed by the legislature, such as the fee increase.
Some Texas universities, including UT-Austin and Texas Tech, have already chosen to use the money gleaned from the fee increases for salary increases.
Meanwhile, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reported that public college costs in Texas are climbing faster than those of any other state.
"Generally, Texas has chosen to place somewhat more of the burden of paying for higher education on students and families, although the general taxpayer still provides by far the greater share of the cost of education," said Don Brown, deputy commissioner of the board.
"The actual level of tuition and fees in Texas continues to be a lot lower than the average in the rest of the country," he said.
In 1995, Texas students paid an average of $1,659 for a year of tuition and fees at public universities, as opposed to the national average of $2,402. However, a spokesperson for the Texas Tomorrow Fund reported that tuition at Texas colleges would increase by 11 percent over the next three years, while the national average increase is just 6.6 percent, according to The Education Resources Institute.
From 1985 to 1995, college costs in Texas increased by $1,182, or 248 percent. However, Rob Sheridan, director of Scholarships and Financial Aid at UH, explained that there is a perfectly simple reason for this massive increase.
"From 1958 to 1985, the Texas Legislature authorized no increases in public college tuition," he said, which kept tuition constant at a level of $477 per year for 30 semester hours.
Even though tuition has been increasing, the Texas Legislature has increased spending in higher education for 1995-1997 by $519 million, or 8.2 percent, over 1993-1995.
However, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac for 1995, state spending per student has dropped 16 percent in the past 10 years. This has occurred despite the rises in appropriations, because student enrollment in Texas has grown during this time period.
Student enrollment at Texas universities totaled 923,197 in 1994, according to the almanac. The coordinating board has predicted that enrollment will rise by 192,000 by 2010, bringing the total number of students to more than 1.1 million, said spokesman Ray Grasshoff.
He noted that this estimate is based on demographic trends and is "conservative."
Thus, the question lingering in many students' minds is this: How can the state appropriate enough money to keep up with the rising costs incurred by inflation and rising enrollment?
Bill Hobby, chancellor of the UH System, said that the state will not be able to do it unless taxes are increased to take up the slack. But he also noted that Texas is a state that is very opposed to tax rises.
"I don't see any immediate change (in education spending) in a society that is so anti-tax (that they don't) recognize the need for secondary and higher education (spending)," Hobby said.
Herb Rothschild, associate director of Public Affairs for the UH System, said, "Texas has to look very closely at what is the `right' level of tuition and fees.
"Right now, tuition and fees at state universities are well within the reach of the average family. But UH tuition is a challenge to some people, and UH has to help them meet that challenge."
It seems that the real tuition burden will rest on the shoulders of out-of-state students, however. Over the 1995-1997 period, reported the almanac, in-state tuition will rise steadily while out-of-state tuition will experience sharp growth, increasing from $171 per semester hour in 1995 to $222 per hour by 1997.
Out-of-state students are required to carry a great part of the cost of operating Texas' college system. Rather than paying for the actual cost of their education, those students pay an average of nonresident public college costs from the other five most populous states.
"As we face the continuing demand on our state resources, we had to face up to the hard call that we need to require out-of-state students to pick up a greater share of the cost of education," said state Sen. Teel Bivins, R-Amarillo.
Bivins and Texas Rep. Rob Junell, D-San Angelo, supported the bill that raised state tuition and fees. Despite the rises, Bivins said, "(attending a Texas college will) still be one of the best bargains in America."
This is true, at least for now, according to the coordinating board. In a 1994 survey of 46 states, Texas was among the bottom five states in college tuition and fees, the board reported. The most expensive state, Vermont, charged $3,890 for 30 semester hours, while the least expensive, North Carolina, charged only $1,411.