CHEYENNE, Wyo.-
Some University of Wyoming officials say they want to take the guesswork out of tuition, which can increase sharply some years and not at all in others.
They are proposing an automatic, three-year, 3 percent increase starting in 2008, arguing such increases would cover inflationary costs while giving planners and students a more reliable forecast of costs and revenues.
Tuition has increased by an average of 6 percent a year over the past two decades.
Opponents of the plan, including Gov. Dave Freudenthal and some state lawmakers, point out the state has just put another $75 million into the university’s quarter-billion-dollar operations budget. They say tuition hikes aren’t needed.
There is also concern about diluting the new state-funded Hathaway Scholarship, which starts at $800 per student per year.
Factoring in an expected increase in room and board rates, in-state undergraduates could pay an additional $500 a year to attend the university.
“I think people are just starting to get money hungry,” said Stephen Garcia, a junior communications major at UW who works three jobs. “They really need to think how hard it is to make $500 at a restaurant, or at internships that don’t pay very much, how hard it is to come up with that money.”
University trustees considered the tuition proposal in January. They dropped the matter when it became a political hot potato. As a result, there will be no tuition hike this fall.
The increase was proposed by UW President Tom Buchanan.
“It wasn’t intended to represent a new charge to students, above and beyond their historic contributions, but to maintain the purchasing power we have this year, next year and the year after that,” he said.
Some trustees argued at their March meeting that students, as opposed to the state, need to keep paying for their education. They said it’s not good policy for the university to rely so heavily on state funding for support.
They were concerned if the state economy fell flat, for example, a sudden, steep tuition increase would be needed.
“This newfound wealth is temporary,” Trustee Taylor Haynes said. “Never mind the projections, we’ve seen it. Hard times come along.”
But others pointed out the state constitution requires the university to be “as nearly free as possible” for in-state students.
The university has been appropriated $370 million for the 2007-08 budget cycle. That doesn’t include another $100 million for capital construction and other one-time expenses. The money is delivered as a “block grant,” giving UW officials broad authority to spend.
A 3 percent tuition increase would generate $300,000 a year.
