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UH will seek student input on tuition

Next possible increase will be decided by April 1

By Lisa Street
Senior Staff Writer

The UH System universities will solicit student input before increasing tuition for the fall semester, UH President and System Chancellor Jay Gogue told a joint legislative committee in Austin on Wednesday.

A Systemwide discussion is under way on possible tuition increases, Gogue said during testimony before the Legislative Oversight Committee on Higher Education. The increase, if any, will be determined by April 1.

"Hearings are being held across the campus, so the various colleges are sitting down with students at each college," Gogue said. "We are scheduled to receive input in early February in terms of sort of the grass-roots request of what the needs are."

The UHS Board of Regents approved a $19 tuition increase in November. Gogue said the measure, which received positive reaction from students, has generated $8.5 million for this campus.

"We are sensitive to the tuition increase, and we think we made the decision that allowed us to move forward and continue to operate the institution with the least disruption possible," Gogue said.

To take input on the next possible increase, Associate Vice President for Finance Jim McShan will head an advisory board on which several students will be selected to serve.

"Our adjustment will be to add more students because we've really (just) been selecting the (Student Government Association) vice president to serve on a lot of committees," Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance John Rudley said. "We will modify that and ask more students to participate on the official tuition committee."

Gogue said that, although tuition at UH has recently increased by 41 percent, the Board of Regents agreed to put 30 percent of those funds into student financial aid in the form of fellowships and scholarships.

"We had, last term, at least 21,000 students that received about $157 million in aid," he said.

In other business, the committee questioned Gogue about UH's efforts to manage its student-to-faculty ratio, which continues to widen as student enrollment increases and faculty retention slides.

Gogue said UH's enrollment has grown by 40 percent in the past 10 years, but the number of faculty members has fallen by about 25 percent.

To meet the needs of increasing student enrollment, the University plans on hiring 100 new faculty members over the next few years. The additional faculty will help the Bauer College of Business, the UH Law Center and the College of Pharmacy keep their accreditation.

"Growth in terms of faculty numbers is part of the plan, but not of the size I've heard from other institutions," Gogue said.

He said he also wants to increase staff salaries and improve mentoring and tutoring programs for students.
 

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