UTEP to raise tuition again
November 18, 2004
Even though UTEP has one of the nation's poorest student populations, under tuition deregulation, UTEP chose to increase tuition by almost 28 percent within one year.
Written by Senator Eliot Shapleigh,
Even though UTEP has one of the nation's poorest student populations, under tuition deregulation, UTEP chose to increase tuition by almost 28 percent within one year. This was the third highest tuition increase for all universities in Texas.
What makes this tuition increase even more difficult to understand is that it defied basic competitive market principles. UTEP, unlike any other component in the University of Texas System, has stiff competition just up the road at New Mexico State University. In 1996, when NMSU offered in-state tuition to El Paso students, one in ten UTEP students took advantage of the offer. Today, UTEP charges $491 more per semester than NMSU for a student taking 15 hours. After tuition is increased too much, El Paso students will begin to make the choice to obtain their education elsewhere once again. Yet the UTEP administration is considering another 5 percent increase on tuition.
There is a very real risk that El Paso and UTEP is placing itself to lose it's best and brightest students as they leave our community in search of a more affordable education. Let's remember that El Paso students have the first choice and ensure that a college education in El Paso is affordable and achievable.
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