Last week, the Board of Trustees at the University of Wyoming approved a 5 percent tuition hike for the next academic year—and 4 percent increases for each year after that. Most of that extra revenue will be used to fund employee salary increases.
Some employees and students question the move.
Faculty Senate Chair Ed Janak says the raises are much-needed, but he isn’t sure tuition hikes are the right idea.
“We need increased revenue across the board,” says Janak. “However, the faculty don’t want this increased revenue to come on the backs of our students. We think that it’s unfair for students and their families to be responsible for doing this. We think there’s a lot of other revenue streams that need to be brought up and brought into this.”
Janak says faculty and staff salaries haven’t kept up with the cost-of-living over the past five years. But he worries higher tuition could lead to a dip in enrollment—especially among students from out-of-state.
Even after the increases, UW’s in-state tuition is expected to remain the lowest among the nation’s doctoral-degree granting institutions.
Next year’s increase is expected to bring in about $2 million dollars for faculty salaries. Under the Trustees’ new tuition policy, they can re-evaluate tuition costs every four years.