(Oct. 24, 2017) -- On the heels of the launch of the President’s Initiative on Finance and Budget Modeling, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy today announced the Strategic Initiative on Tuition and Fees and the Strategic Initiative on Weighted Student Credit Hour (WSCH) Optimization. The strategic initiatives will further advance UTSA’s institutional sustainability and fiscal health, despite reduced funding for public higher education, inflation and increased operating costs.
Eighmy today appointed a 34-member Tuition and Fees Committee to explore all avenues related to UTSA’s tuition structure, including innovative models such as differential tuition and guaranteed-rate plans. Additionally, the committee will examine the market forces that influence the university’s competitiveness and how UTSA compares to its peer institutions in San Antonio and in Texas.
Following the guidelines laid out by the University of Texas System regarding transparency, the committee will seek input from UTSA’s internal and external stakeholders.
>>The Tuition and Fees Committee will host an open forum from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on November 13 in the University Center Retama Auditorium (UC 2.02.02).
Committee members will carefully weigh the input received during the November 6 open forum with other factors to determining tuition rates that will best help UTSA meet its goals.
“As our primary sources of revenue, tuition and fees enable us to provide our students with outstanding academic experiences. Our aspiration to be an exemplary urban-serving university and multicultural discovery enterprise depend on sufficient revenue streams. However, any proposed tuition increase needs careful consideration within the context of affordability and access. We must balance the ability to fund our student success and faculty hiring initiatives with potential impact on students’ ability to attend UTSA,” said Eighmy.
Eighmy also appointed a 16-member WSCH Optimization Committee to explore, develop and recommend strategies to maximize WSCH production at UTSA. The committee will examine approaches to optimize course enrollments and look at other nuances influencing the formula, such as ensuring UTSA courses are properly coded to reflect their content.
“Much of our support from the state of Texas during each budget biennium comes from formula funding,” said Eighmy. “Our share of the formula funding pie is relative to other academic institutions and comes from our fraction of weighted student credit hour production during a specified counting year.”
Next summer marks the beginning of the base year in which UTSA student credit hours will be counted, driving the immediacy of the WSCH Optimization Committee’s work.
Both of the strategic initiatives announced today will be co-chaired by Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Mauli Agrawal and Vice President for Business Affairs Kathy Funk-Baxter, who have leadership roles in all three President’s Initiatives. The work of both committees will align closely with Eighmy’s Strategic Enrollment and Student Success Initiatives.
Learn more about the Tuition and Fees Committee and WSCH Optimization Committee, including a complete list of committee members, their charges and timelines.
Learn more about the President’s Initiative on Student Success.
Learn more about the President’s Initiative on Strategic Enrollment.
Learn more about the President's Initative on Finance & Budget Modeling.
Read the October 3 email President Eighmy sent to the UTSA community about his vision for the future.
Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
