As many Tennessee college students are well aware, tuition costs this fall are increasing across the state. The UT Board of Trustees approved a 9.7 percent increase in tuition costs for UTM in June 2005.

This increase means that undergraduate students at UTM will pay $171 more per semester, which will be about $342 more than last academic year. After the change, the cost of tuition and fees for those who attend UTM is now $2,246.50 per semester.

The 9.7 percent increase in tuition also applies to graduate students and to New College, UTM’s online degree program. This amount is below the proposed 13 percent increase originally recommended by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

Students at other state universities are also facing increased tuition costs, most of which are greater than UTM’s 9.7 percent increase. UT Knoxville now costs $271 more per semester than last year, at $2,645 each semester. The University of Memphis saw one of the highest increases, with tuition costing students $302 more per semester, at a total of $2, 542 per semester. UT Chattanooga and MTSU also had significant increases this fall, with students now paying $2,300 per semester at MTSU and $2,250 at UT Chattanooga.

On the UTM campus, the amount of the increase in tuition is earmarked to be used for overall technology and education purposes.

The increased tuition costs are “giving us the ability to look for the teachers we need,” says Carroll Lewis, UTM Bursar at the Office of Business Affairs. According to Lewis, this money will be used primarily to “meet our budget needs” as a campus. One result of this would be that the university would have a greater ability to be more competitive in attracting the most qualified instructors to the UTM campus, Lewis said.

Nevertheless, this rise in tuition costs comes much to the dismay of many students. “I see the increase, but I don’t see where it’s going,” says Mindy Parman, a senior chemistry major. “I am getting the same education as freshman year, but I am paying more for it.”

However, some students are choosing to find a bright side to the situation in spite of the increased costs.

“I definitely don’t like it,” says Sarah Fiser, a sophomore elementary education major. “We still have to buy food, pay for car insurance and now worry about paying more [for tuition]. But it will teach us how to manage our money better.”

For many students, this rise in costs will be partially offset by the $300 per person increase in the HOPE lottery scholarship. This increase was voted into effect by the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year.