Majority of USHE technical college tuition and fee rates remain without increase
The Utah Board of Higher Education considered tuition and general student fee adjustments requested by Utah’s colleges and universities on the first day of their two-day meeting, ultimately approving a 1.98% systemwide average increase. Institutional boards of trustees reported on their review and recommendations to the Board of Higher Education, following its October 2020 decision to implement a comprehensive review of all general student fees by institutional boards of trustees to determine if fees should be retained, transitioned to tuition or repealed.
The Board approved recommendations by institutional boards of trustees to eliminate, on average, over 11.5% of general student fees for degree-granting institutions and move those fees to tuition. Tuition increases, excluding general student fees, were primarily adjusted to meet the legislative requirement to fund compensation increases with tuition and for mandatory costs relating to tenure and promotion of faculty.
With one exception, tuition rates at Utah’s technical colleges remain the same, without an increase for the coming 2021-22 fiscal year. Salt Lake Community College’s School of Applied Technology requested a $0.05 or 2.08% per membership hour increase for the coming fiscal year, which was also approved by the Board.
“We’ve taken steps as a Board in recent months to ensure that the cost of college is clear to Utah students,” said Harris H. Simmons, chair of the Utah Board of Higher Education. “Beyond public Truth-in-Tuition hearings held by Utah colleges, many general student fees are now wrapped into tuition, giving students a more straightforward look at college costs. Affordability is a top priority of the Board, and after careful consideration, modest tuition and student fee increases for Utah’s public colleges and universities were approved.”
The following tuition and fee adjustments will go into effect for the 2021-22 academic year:
| Institution | Dollars* | Percent |
| University of Utah | $151 | 1.56% |
| Utah State University | $195 | 2.49% |
| Utah State University – Eastern, Moab, Blanding | $106 | 2.42% |
| Weber State University | $122 | 2.00% |
| Southern Utah University | $(44) | -0.64% |
| Snow College | $88 | 2.25% |
| Dixie State University | $200 | 3.53% |
| Utah Valley University | $104 | 1.76% |
| Salt Lake Community College | $97 | 2.43% |
| USHE Average Tuition Increases | 1.98% |
*For a resident undergraduate student taking 15 credits per semester for two semesters
Each year following the legislative session, the Utah Board of Higher Education determines the amount of additional tuition necessary to meet the operating budget needs and help fulfill the missions of Utah’s public colleges and universities.
