Education Board of Regents aims at moderate tuition increases

Composite including photo by avemario / iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News

SALT LAKE CITY – The State Board of Regents will consider a systemwide tuition increase averaging 3.4 percent for the 2017-18 academic year – the second-lowest average increase since 1999 – at their meeting Friday at Dixie State University in St. George.

In Southern Utah, the increase ranges from the low end of 2.5 percent at Southern Utah University to the high end the scale of 5 percent at Dixie State University.

“We understand that the cost of college can be a barrier for students, which is why we are pleased to be able to recommend this low tuition increase to the Board of Regents,” Utah Commissioner of Higher Education David Buhler said in a news release.

“This low increase is possible thanks to the support of the 2017 Legislature, which provided funding for enrollment growth and kept the tuition match for compensation low,” Buhler continued. “The Board of Regents and institutional presidents continue to work to keep the cost of college among the lowest in the nation, so that higher education remains affordable and achievable for all Utahns.”

The tuition rates at Utah’s public colleges and universities are among the lowest in the Western region, the Board of Regents news release said, adding that Utah has the fourth-lowest average tuition rates for public universities in the nation.

The proposed 2017-18 tuition increase is 2.5 percent at Southern Utah University, Snow College, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College; 3.5 percent at Weber State University; 3.9 percent at the University of Utah; and 5 percent at Utah State University and Dixie State University.

One of the primary roles of the Board of Regents is to set the tuition rate for all eight public colleges and universities in Utah. This low increase is in keeping with the Board’s strategic objectives (adopted in 2015) of “Affordable Participation” and “Timely Completion,” as finances are often a reason students delay or do not complete their higher education.

Other key items to be discussed at this meeting include the following:

 The complete downloadable agenda is available at the Utah System of Higher Education website, as well as audio streaming during Committee of the Whole portions of the meeting.

The Utah System of Higher Education

The USHE is governed by the Board of Regents and comprises Utah’s eight public colleges and universities. The CEO of USHE is the Commissioner of Higher Education. For more information, visit higheredutah.org.

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