NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2005

 

Contact: Eric Gerber
713/743-8189 (office)
713.617.7130(pager)
egerber@uh.edu

TOTAL TUITION & FEE INCREASE LIMITED
TO 5 PERCENT FOR UHS RESIDENT UNDERGRADS
University of Houston System Board of Regents Approves Rates for Fall Semester of 2005

HOUSTON, April 6, 2005 – The University of Houston System Board of Regents has approved an increase of approximately 5 percent in total tuition and fee costs for resident undergraduate students for the fall semester of 2005.

The increases vary from university to university within the system.

At the University of Houston, a resident undergraduate taking 12 semester hours will pay about $126 more in overall costs – a 5 percent increase. At UH-Clear Lake, with a 4.5 percent increase, a student taking 12 hours will pay about $82 more. At UH-Downtown, with a 4.9 percent increase, the cost will go up $78. And at UH-Victoria, with a 5 percent increase, the cost will rise $84.

“This increase balances our obligation to keep higher education affordable with our commitment to improve the quality of that education,” said Jay Gogue, chancellor of the UH System and president of UH. “We’re hopeful the Texas Legislature will allocate the appropriate level of funding to allow us to continue doing that.”

The Texas Legislature is in session and working on an appropriations bill to fund state universities.

In 2003, state universities were given the authority to set their own General Designated Tuition rates. However, the legislature still sets the Statutory Tuition rate and previously scheduled a $2 per credit hour increase for the fall semester of 2005. The UH System has incorporated that amount into its 5 percent increase in total tuition and fees for resident undergraduate students.

“Our Board and System leadership have worked very hard to keep tuition at a reasonable level for our students,” said Morgan Dunn O'Connor, chair of the UH System Board of Regents. “This is important not only for our students whose lives are improved greatly with a college education, but it is also equally critical for the state of Texas to increase the number of college-educated citizens to lead us in the future.”

Each UH System university conducted its own public meetings in which students, faculty and administrators had the opportunity to comment on the proposed increases. An open forum also was presented at the beginning of today’s special UHS Board of Regents meeting.

At UH, the increase in General Designated Tuition will not be charged for undergraduate education courses to encourage students to pursue a teaching certificate. Likewise, the increase will not be charged for certain core courses offered on Saturdays to support greater use of university facilities during off-peak hours. UH offered similar exemptions last year.

For more information about the UHS Board of Regents, visit http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/regents/.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM
The University of Houston System is the state’s only metropolitan higher education system, encompassing four universities and two multi-institution teaching centers. The universities are the University of Houston, a nationally recognized doctoral degree-granting, comprehensive research university; the University of Houston-Downtown, a four-year undergraduate university beginning limited expansion into graduate programs; and the University of Houston-Clear Lake and the University of Houston-Victoria, both upper division and master’s-level institutions. The centers are the UH System at Sugar Land in Fort Bend and the UH System at Cinco Ranch. In addition, the UH System includes KUHF-FM, Houston’s National Public Radio and classical radio station, and KUHT-TV, the nation’s first educational television station.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.