The UTM Advisory Board hosted its quarterly meeting April 23 in the UC to discuss the 2019-20 annual operating budget, modifications to the Five-Year Strategic Plan, enrollment management and fundraising performance.
The Advisory Board is responsible for proposing recommendations regarding the strategic plan and tentative annual operating budget to the Board of Trustees (BOT) in June; this includes tuition and fees as related to the campus, as well as the future of the campus concerning the UT System.
The primary item on the Advisory Board’s agenda involved approving the proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2019-20, which includes a 2-2.5% increase of undergraduate maintenance fees (tuition), as well as an increase in mandatory fees, after a 3% increase in tuition in 2018.
Now, in-state undergraduate students pay $9,512 in tuition and mandatory fees. If the 2-2.5% increase is implemented by the BOT, students will pay about $9,750, an increase of around $237.80.
The increase in mandatory fees, which are all of the student program and student services fees, involves only the student actitivities fee. A 7.3% increase to that fee was approved by the UTM Student Government Association this semester.
Devin Majors, SGA president and the student representative for the Advisory Board, said that the student activities fee increase was passed in order to “increase what is available for students on campus.” This will help fund the Student Activities Council’s programs for the upcoming academic year.
Graduate student tuition and mandatory fees will also increase by 2-2.5%, raising tuition to $10,618 from $10,364.
As of fiscal year 2018-19, UTM charges the third largest amount of tuition compared to its admissions peers of colleges such as the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Middle Tennessee State, UTK, UTC, Murray State and Austin Peay State.
UTM’s chancellor, Dr. Keith Carver, said surrounding universities are also expected to raise their tuition.
“We anticipate the Kentucky schools and the Missouri schools and the Illinois schools to make a considerable jump in their tuition increase just to offset decrease in funding from higher ed where ours will remain somewhat stable,” he said.
Currently, UTM uses all allocated funds to maintain its level of operation.
In the next fiscal year, UTM will also receive a share of the UT System’s $10 million gift to ensure safety and security on campus. Each UT campus will receive a portion of the money.
The Advisory Board approved the budget increase, which will be presented for final approval by the BOT in June. Students can expect tuition to increase for the fall 2019 semester.
The concern for student enrollment and retainment as it relates to tuition and how to deal with it was addressed by faculty representative Dr. Chris Caldwell, professor of Mathematics and Statistics.
“I’ve seen seven years of decline in a row. I also saw the budget go up seven years in a row. It seems to me at some point you say to yourself, ‘Well maybe we’re not going to grow out of this, maybe we ought to address the cost issue, improve efficiency, pick a different size for our target.’ At what point do you start considering those issues?”
The Advisory Board agreed that looking toward the future was better than focusing on the past.
Regarding UTM’s strategic plan, Carver will be responsible for submitting potential plan modifications to the Advisory Board for its approval before submitting any revised plan to the interim UT president, Randy Boyd, who will then relay it to the BOT.
If the Advisory Board does not recommend proposed modifications, the chancellor may still submit a modified plan with a written defense as to why the board’s decision was not heeded. The UT president and BOT must approve a revised strategic plan.
“While we are developing this route for the campus, we do need feedback and recommendations,” Carver said. “I don’t anticipate in the short term there being revisions, but certainly as market forces change, as demographics change, or emerging trends in higher education, there could be revisions, so I think this is important to consider.”
An update for the strategic plan can be expected during the fall meeting, Carver said.
Also discussed was UTM’s fundraising performance. UTM has experienced a steady increase of donations over the past five years, reaching $7,504,380 in the 2018 fiscal year. Currently, the university has earned over $6 million for only the first half of the 2019 fiscal year, said Andy Wilson, vice chancellor for University Advancement.
As the spring semester is quickly wrapping up, the university is already beginning to evaluate Fall 2019 freshman and transfer student admission numbers. As of April 22, 5,740 new freshmen were admitted, with 1,172 accepting UTM’s offer. While transfer student enrollment has decreased in the past year, 672 students have been admitted so far and 269 have confirmed their enrollment.
Transfer student enrollment has not increased as expected with the Tennessee Promise, a scholarship program offering students five semesters of community college free with the intent to transfer to a four-year institution after receiving an associate’s degree. Jamie Mantooth, executive director of Enrollment Services and Student Engagement, speculated that the decrease of transfer students corresponded with students in community colleges not finishing their associate’s degrees within the allotted five semesters.
The Advisory Board discussed the multiple programs being introduced to increase enrollment and retention through the strategic plan, including a partnership with Ruffalo Noel-Levitz to improve retention, progression and graduation. This sub-plan will focus on data collection and analysis, strategy development, goal and tactics development, and limited and full implementation.
“(The strategic enrollment plan) is one initiative that I believe can help us do a better job engaging, enrolling, and retaining our students,” Mantooth said. “There is still a lot of work to do, but I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
The Advisory Board also discussed the implementation of more competitive scholarships to enroll and maintain quality students through the Chancellor’s Academic Excellence Fund.
Art Sparks, Advisory Board chairman, said the board is making progress in improving the future of the university.
“I truly believe we have the opportunity to make some changes, to make some differences, not only for this university, but also for the students and the alumni,” Sparks said.
The Advisory Board consists of seven members: Sparks, Majors, Chris Caldwell, Hal Bynum, Katie Ashley, Monice Hagler and Julia Wells.
For more information about the Advisory Board, visit www.utm.edu/advisoryboard/.
