West Texas A&M University is proposing tuition and fee increases that could go into effect next fall with approval from the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.
The public hearings for the tuition and fee increases were held on Feb. 18 at the Jack B. Kelley student center on the WT campus and Feb. 24 at the Amarillo Center.
Dr. J. Patrick O’Brien, university president, said during the public hearings that tuition for Texas residents could increase by about $77 to $198 per long semester. The amount of increase is dependent upon the remaining number of credit hours a student has left to complete. Right now, Texas residents pay about $3,485 in tuition per long semester.
“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it will add up to even more for border state and out of state students because we already pay an extra amount per credit hour,” Lauren Carter, junior Sports and Exercise Science major, said.
The tuition figure would be a fixed rate for the rest of the student’s time at WT, should they graduate on time.
“I like that it’s going to be a fixed rate so that I will pay a consistent rate for the rest of my schooling,” Kambrie Phillips, sophomore Communication Disorders major, said.
According to information from the Amarillo Globe-News, the new guaranteed tuition rates would go into effect next fall after a new state law required public universities to provide the option of a fixed tuition. The law states universities could either make the fixed rates mandatory or allow students the choice to opt in. O’Brien said the Texas A&M system made the new tuition rates mandatory.
The intent is to provide certainty to students and parents as to what they will be paying for their education over the next four years, O’Brien said. The university will be able to set a new guaranteed tuition rate for incoming freshmen in the future.
There would be a four-year guaranteed rate for students with zero to 29 credit hours, a three-year guaranteed rate for students with 30 to 59 credit hours, a two-year guaranteed rate for students with 60 to 89 credit hours and a one-year guaranteed rate for students with 90 to 120 credit hours.
Wade Shaffer, vice president for academic affairs, said it will offer an incentive for students to graduate on time. If a student does not finish within four years, their fifth year tuition would be set by the rate for seniors in that year. Students repeating a course three times will also face additional charges.
The new tuition plan also comes with increases in various student fees, including the advising fee.
Currently, students pay a $35 advising fee per long semester and $17.50 per summer term. The advising fee would increase to $50 per long semester and $25 per summer term. Increasing the advising fee would generate an estimated additional revenue of $261,657.
The additional revenue from the increase of the advising fee would go toward three full-time advisors, training, additional student-worker hours and a profile for AdvisorTrac, a student tracking software program.
In the summary of the tuition and fee increase hearings, O’Brien lists the advising fee that students from various Texas schools currently pay, which are higher than what WT students currently pay.
“I think it’s unfair to justify price increases by comparing it to rates from other schools,” Abigail Walsh, sophomore Music Therapy major, said. “The lower prices at WT is one of the reasons that so many people come here.”
In addition to the increase of the advising fee, there will be an additional Accreditation Enhancement Fee for undergraduate and graduate students in the Social Work and Education programs, respectively.
A pdf (portable document file) of the PowerPoint presentation from the hearings can be found at http://www.wtamu.edu/about/public-hearings.aspx. The university will seek authority to increase its tuition and fees from the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents at its meeting in May.
