Tuition increases on the horizon

After deliberating for less than two months, the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee submitted its recommendation today to President William Powers Jr. The committee proposes a 2.6-percent increase for resident undergraduate full-time tuition and a 3.6-percent increase for nonresident undergraduate full-time tuition each year for the next two years. The committee also recommends a 3.6-percent increase in tuition for all graduate students each year for the next two years. The recommendations are in line with the increase cap the UT System Board of Regents gave the committee before it began meeting. The following quotes are from TPAC’s tuition recommendations.

“… TPAC concluded that a modest tuition increase is justified and necessary to maintain the basic core services and make progress towards improving four-year graduation rates.”

“The committee is convinced that the $15-million increase in net tuition revenue in each year is reasonable and necessary to pursue the most critical of needs, understanding that it will fund only one-half of the needs for 2012-13 and a third in 2013-14.”

A rivalry no longer

UT defeated Texas A&M 27-25 in College Station on Thursday on a 40-yard field goal as time expired. Texas A&M will head to the SEC after this year. DeLoss Dodds, UT men’s head athletic director, indicated that the UT football schedule is booked until 2018, making scheduling Texas A&M for a matchup unlikely for the first time since 1894.

“I hate to see the end of anything that has such rich history and tradition come to an end … We’re not playing it in the future, as it looks right now, but it’ll be a game you think about and a game you miss. Without even knowing what our schedule is next year, it’s hard to fathom where it would fit in at this point. It’s a very special game. Former Texas high school football players play against each other. It’s been a marquee Thanksgiving game. It’s hard to walk away from that.”
— Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman on the end of the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry, in a press conference last Monday.

“I said this the Missouri week, you need to do what’s best for your school, and A&M felt like it was best to go to the SEC. These kids and I aren’t involved with that. And the coaches. That’s bigger than us. That’s about administrators and that’s about fans. The game is very important for both groups to win. The thing I told our players is you’ll be part of history because this may be the last one that’s played, so you can tell your kids and your grandkids, and you want to make it a good one.”
— UT head coach Mack Brown on the rivalry at a press conference last Monday.

“Throughout the nation, similar rivalries withstood various changes and have made a priority of ensuring the rivalry game is played every season. A perfect example is the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. Though they remain in different conferences, the universities have continued to hold their rivalry game. Additionally, the University of Texas and Oklahoma have enjoyed a longstanding rivalry that was nonconference for decades. Clearly, this can be accomplished if all involved are willing to put their egos aside.”
— State Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, in a letter sent to the two chancellors, presidents and head athletic directors of UT and Texas A&M, calling for a continuation of the rivalry, according to The Texas Tribune. Larson is a 1981 A&M graduate.