The board of trustees has approved a four percent tuition increase for UW students for the 2018-2019 school year, with additional obstacles on the horizon including possibilities for decreases in non-resident tuition and waivers for Native American students.
The decision is part of a policy implemented by the board in 2015 to incrementally increase tuition by that amount annually, unless a vote not to passes, until revisiting it in 2020. This year, that increase ran contrary to recommendations by President Laurie Nichols to stay level for the 2018-2019 school year.
“We know we need to increase in-state, we also know we probably need to bring down out-of-state, we’re just not comfortable with a recommendation on any of that right now and thus we said ‘just hold the line, don’t do anything at this point in time,’” Nichols said. “They stuck with their policy—it may have been the right decision and it’s certainly what they thought was the right decision.”
ASUW President Ben Wetzel also spoke in favor of keeping tuition at its current price to better accommodate already-planned program fee increases.
“I think with the new net revenue coming from the program fees, which students were able to get behind and support, that the administration’s recommendation of no increase for the tuition this year will definitely help in bringing onboard the program fees,” Wetzel said.
Dave True, the board’s vice president and president-elect, spoke in favor of staying consistent and avoiding unintended consequences and confusion, referring to the policy’s original intent.
“It was a belief around this table that we had dug ourselves a hole by having no tuition increases for a lengthy amount of time,” True said. “I was ultimately convinced that the long-term fiduciary, prudent decision by this body was to establish a guideline for ongoing tuition increases that the students could count on, could anticipate—and would be transparent for what this body was going to recommend, going forward. I still believe that if we don’t follow that policy we are starting to dig the latest hole.”
As tuition and fees for UW students go up, the board has received (but took no action on) a new proposal to decrease tuition for non-resident students that was included in reports from the Huron consulting company. The goal is to improve UW’s competitiveness alongside in-state tuition in other states and to attract more non-resident students who would bring in an overall increase in revenue.
“Whatever dollar amount we would set for full-time tuition, if you add in that price tag for our mandatory student fees, then I think we’re beginning to price ourselves in the right space that would generate that market demand,” Associate Vice President of Financial Affairs David Jewell said. “That would then help us grow our enrollment and would help us meet some of our financial goals for revenue growth in general.”
Nichols stated that the most significant change in mind would be to bring the current sticker-price cost of attendance more in line with the final cost for many non-resident students who qualify for various tuition waivers, hence attracting more of those students to UW who would otherwise veer away from the institution based on sticker shock—without learning about potential discounts. For students who receive little or no discount, revenue in that area would take an initial hit but recover over time—and Huron also recommended decreasing the number of waivers awarded to high-performing non-residents.
Other tuition changes on the board’s agenda focused on more select student groups. Following an initial proposal from the Northern Arapahoe Business Council at the January meeting, the board was presented additional information to consider for recruiting and supporting Native American students from Wyoming, as well as reports on the effectiveness of current programs to those ends—including but not limited to the Northern Arapaho Endowment Fund Scholarship and Chief Washakie Endowment Scholarship.
Former UW Trustee, and Wind River Indian Reservation Project Coordinator for the High Plains American Indian Research Institute, James Trosper voiced his support for tuition waivers and other discounts. Trosper, great-great-grandson of Chief Washakie, has served on many other Wyoming boards, councils and committees as an advocate for the preservation of Native American culture and the success of Wyoming Native Americans.
“While most minority ethnic groups have struggled to gain a place in the melting pot, Native Americans have struggled to avoid losing their culture and maintain their land, water, traditions and equal rights,” Trosper said. “Native American youth age 16-24 are poised on the brink of more and improved tribal, economic and social prospects – the Northern Arapahoe Business Council believes a tuition waiver or partial waiver will provide one less obstacle for Native American youth to obtain an education.”
Trosper also addressed some concerns of the trustees that extending these discounts might lead to a ‘slippery slope’ problem of increased demand, citing the unique standing of this particular student demographic established by historical circumstances, treaties and the current standing of tribes as sovereign political bodies.
“I also understand the fear that if we do this for one group we will have to do it for others,” Trosper said. “In my mind, the slippery slope argument does not apply here. Native American students don’t fit into a group to which this board would feel obligated to extend more tuition waivers. This university is a land grant university and this land once belonged to the Northern Arapahoe.”
The board of trustees will reconvene to discuss these matters in future meetings, while additional research and consideration is ongoing at this time.
