Texas Lawmakers Cap Tuition Rate Hikes at State Universities
A lot of things about Texas are big. In terms of landmass, it’s the largest state in the contiguous U.S., second only to Alaska overall. It’s also the second-largest state in terms of population, after California. The Texas economy is also out-sized, with leading oil, biomedical research, aerospace and information technology companies headquartered there.
Texas is also “big” in terms of tuition rate hikes at its state colleges and universities. Those schools have increased their tuition costs by 89% during the past six years, according to ConsumerAffairs.com.
Texas legislators recently said enough’s enough. State senators approved a bill that would limit tuition and fee hikes to 5%. But they would only mandate the 5% limit at those schools where tuition and fees were above the state median.
State lawmakers had established tuition rates at state universities in the past, but as their ability to provide monetary support to the schools dwindled in recent years, they decided to let state schools set their own rates so they could make up for the lack of support from the state.
Many would argue that, when left to its own devices, the state university system in Texas, as elsewhere, went overboard.
Are rate increases at state-funded universities in your state within reason, or rising by leaps and bounds?
