Notice of 2024-25 Undergraduate Tuition and Fee Increase Proposal
The Board of Trustees will consider a proposal to increase in-state tuition and mandatory fees at the June 11, 2024 meeting.
Tennessee law (Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-7-1603) requires boards of public universities to give public notice of proposed increases to tuition and mandatory fees charged to in-state undergraduate students at least fifteen (15) days prior to holding a public meeting to adopt the increases. Individuals are permitted to provide comments during the fifteen-day period.
The public comment period will end June 6 at 4:30 p.m. CDT.
| 2023-24 Tuition & Fees | Proposed 2024-25 Tuition & Fees | Change | Annual Revenue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate In-State Tuition per semester based on 15 hours | $3,954 | $4,167 | $213 | 5.39% | $7,541,700 |
| Mandatory Fees | $985 | $1,031 | $46.00 | 4.67% | $1,610,000 |
| Total Projected Revenue Growth | 5.24% | $9,151,700 | |||
Explanation for the Proposed Tuition and Mandatory Fee Increase
Tuition, along with state appropriations, supports 94% of the education and general (E&G) operations of the University. The 5.24% increase proposed will help fund enhanced scholarships, new or expanded academic programs, salary adjustments, and inflationary costs associated with utility costs, software maintenance, and campus technology infrastructure.
Mandatory fees support a variety of student services, as well as other operational and auxiliary functions provided by the university. The proposed increases are to support Parking Services, Student Health Services, Technology Access, Student Recreation, and Athletics.
Purposes for Which Revenue Derived from the Tuition and Mandatory Fee Increase Will be Used
The proposed tuition increase will fund:
- enhanced scholarship programs for incoming and continuing students
- federally mandated salary adjustments for employees
- promotions for faculty that advance from assistant up to full professor
- new academic programs in high demand in the job market
- inflationary increases in classroom and administrative software maintenance agreements, technology infrastructure, and utility costs
Parking Services is an auxiliary enterprise and is totally dependent on the Parking Fee for its shuttle services for students, utilities and maintenance cost of the Parking office and shuttle buses, and various parking lots, campus lighting, and sidewalk maintenance projects. The $1 increase will assist in covering these increased costs, as well as the proposed salary and benefit increase.
Student Health Services is an auxiliary enterprise and is totally dependent on the Student Health Services fee for its services to students, operations, and its portion of the shared capital cost for the 202,000 square foot building it shares with the Student Recreation Center. The $3 increase is needed for the proposed salary and benefit increase, as well as inflationary costs of software support and medical supplies.
The Student Recreation Center is an auxiliary enterprise and is totally dependent on the Recreation Center fee for its services to students, operations, and its portion of the shared capital cost of the 202,000 square foot building. The $2 increase is needed to pay for the proposed salary and benefit increase, as well as to cover inflationary costs of recreational programs and services provided to the student body.
The technology access fee (TAF) is a per semester fee required by each student to help offset a portion of the technology related cost on campus. The fee itself covers about $4 million in classroom technology related expenses annually. The revenue is used to supplement infrastructure costs and equipment in the classroom, computer lab equipment, break/fix expenses, lab related software, etc. Proposals submitted each year by deans, department chairs, faculty, and IT’s classroom design and support team are currently approaching $6 million annually, which this incremental increase of $5 in the fee will help address.
The athletics fee supports athletics, which operates much like an auxiliary unit and must have a balanced budget annually. The $35 increase is needed for proposed salary and benefit increases, inflationary costs for operations and travel, various changes in NCAA regulations, decreased game guarantee amounts with the new athletic landscape, and other operational needs.
Efforts to Mitigate the Effect of the Tuition and Mandatory Fee Increase on Students
On December 11, 2018, the Board of Trustees approved the following factors for consideration when increases in tuition and mandatory fees are proposed:
- Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) binding tuition and mandatory fee increase ranges;
- Level of state support;
- Total cost of attendance (which includes tuition cost, mandatory fees, room and board, books, and other educational expenses);
- Efforts to mitigate the financial effect on students; and
- Other factors deemed appropriate by the University such as enrollment goals, market factors, new facility costs, new program costs, and costs related to general campus operations.
The 113th General Assembly passed the 2024-25 General Appropriations Act, granting MTSU an increase of $2.4 million for outcomes productivity and $3.8 million to partially fund a three percent salary pool.
The THEC binding tuition and mandatory fee increase for fiscal year 2024-25 is 0% - 5.5% as approved at the May 16, 2024 Commission meeting.
Tuition and fee increases have been modest in recent years in an effort to make a degree attainable with minimal student debt. Among the three largest public state universities, MTSU has the lowest tuition rates. The average financial aid award for undergraduate students is $10,973 with 67% of the students receiving some level of financial aid.
