UHCL votes in favor of student tuition fee increase
Your college tuition and student service fee may increase, here's why...
On Nov. 7, The University of Houston-Clear Lake Board of Regents presented the proposed designated tuition increase for the 2019 fiscal year. Student leaders, administrative staff and community members heard the proposed rate and posed some questions.
The Texas Education Code authorizes the governing board in public colleges and universities to review requests for an additional tuition fee increase when it is considered for effective operations.
Designated tuition is one of four tuition categories charged to public and private universities and colleges in Texas. Others include Statutory, Board Authorized and Differential Designated Tuition.
The designated tuition proposal follows:
- Current rate: Undergraduate resident: $160/six credit hours, graduate resident: $286/SCH; undergraduate non-resident: $268/SCH, graduate non-resident: $400/SCH.
- Proposed rate for FY 2019: Undergraduate resident: $170/SCH, graduate resident: $302/SCH; undergraduate non-resident: $296/SCH, graduate non-resident: $432/SCH.
- Proposed rate for FY 2012: Undergraduate resident: $180/SCH, graduate resident: $320/SCH; undergraduate non-resident: $322/SCH, graduate non-resident: $464/SCH.
At the Nov. 7 meeting, the Student Life Council also proposed a student service fee increase of one dollar to student services fees, which are currently set at $39 per credit hour with a maximum of six credit hours charged. The proposed increase would raise the maximum total fee for student services from $234 to $240 per semester.
The requested increase will be distributed as follows:
- Expanding psychiatry hours from 3 to 6 hours a week. This is said to cut the wait time for psychiatric services.
- Adding a case manager housed in counseling services to assist students who need social services such as food, housing or financial assistance.
- Adding one coordinator for organizations and activities to assist with the increased number of student organizations.
- Adding one Career Services Employer Relations Coordinator in Career Services to increase employer involvement with UHCL students.
- Adding two new The Signal Reporters, eight Signal Summer workers and four The Signal phone lines.
Benefits of increase:
- Getting seven requests for a $6 increase per semester
- Stabilizing of student services division
- Increase in employer involvement on campus and job postings
- Increasing outreach to employers and involvement with UHCL students in areas of mentoring; job shadowing, internships and career events.
- Increased opportunities for future students.
During a Town Hall meeting Nov. 7, UHCL President Ira K. Blake said recent events have made the request necessary.
“Here at UH-Clear Lake, we’ve experienced several circumstances that make such a request for an increase necessary,” Blake said. “Over the past few years, our revenue sources have been generating fewer dollars due to one and overall decrease in student enrollment, and second, an increase in the number of students who are attending part-time.”
On Nov. 14, UHCL’s SGA held a vote of support/non-support for the proposed increase. Of the 41 attendees, eight opposed and 34 voted in favor of student service fee. 26 attendees agreed to the designated tuition increase and 14 opposed. One other person in the room abstained to vote.
“I believe the increase will allow the university to improve in areas where there needs to be an improvement,” said Kasey Grey, president of UHCL’s Early Childhood Hawk Organization.
The projected budget increase for fiscal year 2019 will be $1,752,236. UHCL is still looking for ways to fulfill the estimated deficit in operating costs for the same fiscal year ($7,127,455.)
“There’s no way we’re going to put that deficit in the bulk of students,” Blake said. “We are public. We want to be reasonably priced. We are reasonably priced. When we look at our other competitor institutions in the state of Texas, we are among the lowest in terms of tuition cost.”
