Texas A&M rolled back its plan to raise tuition and fees Thursday, announcing that the cost of attending the College Station flagship will increase 5.3 percent this fall.
The tuition increase will bring the cost of education to $3,667 a semester for Texas residents taking a full-time load of 12 units, compared with $3,483 from last semester.
Associate Vice President of Finance Bruce Edwards said for out-of-state tuition there is no difference in terms of increase for fall 2007, but out-of-state tuition will increase in fall 2008. Out-of-state tuition for undergraduates will increase by $200 for each credit hour in fall 2008.
Interim President Eddie Davis announced the increase in the wake of a legislative session that produced more dollars than the university expected.
"We fully realize the burden that increased tuition and fees place on students and their families, so we are doing everything possible to hold down costs while maintaining our high academic standards," Davis said in a prepared statement.
The Texas A&M University System's governing board had agreed to an increase of up to 13 percent in March, but campus leaders indicated a willingness to reduce the amount, depending on how much money the Legislature provided in the recent session.
"The Legislature gave us new funding, but it wasn't enough to cover our rising costs," Edwards said.
University officials said the higher tuition and fees will help to pay for more professors, merit-pay increases for faculty and staff members, improved graduate-level programs and ongoing student recruitment and retention efforts.
Edwards said the Regents' Scholarship Program will be continued. Changes in financial aid will be reported Monday.
City editor Calli Turner contributed to this report.
Be the first to comment on this article!