The University of Memphis has announced its tuition increase for the fall semester. Approximately $250 will be added to tuition, which is a 12.5 percent hike from last year.
"The revenue has to be competitive. This places U of M in line with its peer institutions," said Ralph Faudree, University provost.
The money is going towards salary for faculty and staff, as well as campus upkeep. The new tuition rate will begin in the fall of this year.
The Tennessee Board of Regents determines if tuition will be raised, not The University itself.
"The governor appoints a board, and they make the decision," Faudree said.
Some students, such as Christopher Herbert, senior finance major, thinks the money should go to other uses.
"That depends on what they use the money for," Herbert said.
Herbert said the campus should build a bridge over the railroad track.
"We're rushing for time, it's just not convenient for us (the parking)," Herbert said.
Stephen Jones, senior engineering major, thinks the money should be used to find more faculty.
"We need more professors who speak English (as a first language). I've had a lot of foreign professors who were hard to understand," Jones said.
The tuition increase does not have to mean financial woes for students.
"If someone was to call and tell me that they had a problem with tuition, I would tell them that we were trying to meet our peer institutions. Then I would tell them that the lottery scholarship had a $300 increase. Then I would lead them in the direction of the financial aid office to help them," Faudree said.
Student Christopher Herbert agreed.
"A lot of students pay tuition with loans, grants, and scholarships. Not all of students can afford to pay out of pocket," he said.
In the past three years, Faudree has discovered that despite the tuition increases, enrollment at The University has increased.
"More people have the opportunity to attend college," he said.
Faudree also said that it is The University's goal to keep tuition as low as possible.
In addition to the 12.5 percent, an additional one percent will be added as the construction fee for the new University Center.
