March 22, 2017      4:56 PM

Senate takes up limiting university tuition increases

U of H’s Khator said “These measures, there’s nothing wrong, we can tweak some of them to make them better for sure, and the flexibility is good…the trouble will come when we try to set specific targets.”

The debate over college tuition regulation returned to the Texas Senate Wednesday when the Higher Education Committee met to discuss a handful of bills dealing with limiting tuition increases.

The five proposals go about limiting increases in several ways. Senate Bill 250 by Charles Schwertner, R- Georgetown, would freeze tuition rates for a year. After that increases would be capped to inflation rates. Senate Bill 442 by Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, freezes an institution’s tuition at the 2017-2018 academic year level and requires, leaving it up to the legislature to permit increases.

Senate Bill by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would prohibit institutions from increasing tuition “except to make up any difference between core operational costs and state formula funding appropriations.”

By Eleanor Dearman

Copyright March 22, 2017, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved