Southern Utah University President Mindy Benson was joined by CFO Mary Pearson and Student Body President Carson Brown for “Truth in Tuition” on Tuesday, March 5, where they announced their proposal for an upcoming increase in tuition. Slated to go into effect on May 1, the proposed change will raise tuition by 3% and student fees by 1.6%.
While this increase in tuition and fees is SUU’s first in five years, it has been in the works for several. Benson has collaborated with not only Brown but his student body predecessors.
“It’s definitely something that we’ve worked on, been very methodical and had a student voice involved every single step of the way,” said Benson. “What I’ve heard over and over … was ‘Let’s not get to a place where we haven’t raised tuition for so long that we have to do a 20% jump.’” Benson speaks from experience when making this choice, as when she was an advisor for student activities, SUU increased tuition by 23%, which was then followed by other large increases.
Pearson presented the proposal’s reasons, revealing that it costs SUU approximately $12,000 annually to educate a student. An in-state tuition of roughly $6,000 and an out-of-state tuition of around $20,000 are paired with a budget provided to SUU by the state to educate students.
Out-of-state tuition’s price is dictated by a Utah state policy mandating that SUU charge no less than three times the undergraduate resident tuition rate for non residents.
“We really don’t have a choice of how we price it,” said Pearson. “Across the state of Utah, everybody prices it the same.”
Another reason for the proposed increase is the inflation seen in Utah. There has been a 6% inflation rate in the state in the last year, with SUU’s budgetary costs seeing a $5 million increase.
To assist with inflation rates, the state of Utah gives SUU a certain amount of money each year with the expectation that SUU provides 25% of that money themselves. This amounts to $1,302,000 provided by SUU. With the additional costs of $691,175 in faculty and staff support and growth and $160,000 in faculty promotion and tenure, SUU is in a position where they need to raise tuition rates.
Additionally, the Southern Utah University Student Association has decided to increase student fees in order to provide more resources on campus. This includes a $1.25 semesterly increase in Community Engagement Center fees, which go toward operating the HOPE Pantry and Bread & Soup Nite. The other increase to an existing fee is a $3 per semester change in fees for the Tutoring Center, which will allow an increase in its employees’ hourly wages and add to both its staff count and open hours
Student fees are also seeing three new categories. There will now be a semesterly $1 fee for the Testing Center, which will provide the same changes being made to the Tutoring Center. There will also be a $0.25 per semester fee to support the Tradition Keeper initiative and create connections between students at SUU. The final new fee is $0.75 per semester to support SUU Connect, a resource that provides networking opportunities for students and alumni.
The proposal from “Truth in Tuition” will be presented to the SUU Board of Trustees on March 7.
Author: Tessa Cheshire
Photographer: Anna Mower
Editor: Anna Mower
news@suunews.net
