The Texas Tech System Board of Regents Finance Committee has approved a 1.95 percent net increase in tuition and fees, pending a final vote from the board as a whole today.

The increase reflects an estimated addition of $88.75 for students with 15 semester credit hours and will begin in the fall 2012 semester.

Of the $3.4 million generated from the increase, at least $3 million will go toward hiring faculty. The remaining $400,000 will be held in residual for infrastructure costs associated with utilities.

If those funds are not used, they'll be transferred to hire faculty.

"As we continue to grow, the university needs to retain and hire quality faculty to help increase student engagement and retention," said Guy Bailey, Tech president. "When evaluating our options in increasing tuition and fees, we made very conservative decisions to minimize the impact on our student body."

Chairman of the Board of Regents Jerry Turner said he doesn't like the tuition increase, but Tech has the highest student-faculty ratio in the Big 12, and that needs to change.

"If we're going to pursue the quest of being one of the top National Research Universities in the country, we've got to do something about our student-faculty ratio," Turner said. "We're at 24 to 1, and we intend to earmark all of that money, or as much as we possibly can, to hire faculty."

Student Government Association President Tyler Patton said the university didn't have much of a choice but to increase tuition because it's faced with historical budget cuts.

There were no good options, he said.

To recruit the best faculty, Tech must increase tuition, because resources aren't elsewhere.

"No one's happy about having to increase tuition. I think the perspective that we need to keep in mind, or the context we need to keep in mind, is Texas Tech is trying to forge ahead to being in 10 years, a tier-one institution, and hopefully an (American Association of Universities) member in the future. (Tech is) having to do that in the face of a Legislature, where I think public education is not a priority," he said.

The percentage increase in tuition is the second lowest in the last 20 years, while the dollar increase is the fourth lowest over the same period, something Patton said he's proud to see.

Patton said student fees are the one area of cost the Student Government Association can make recommendations about.

Tech is proposing to reduce library fees by $10, Student Union Building fees by $5 and student services fee by $3. Officials want to increase the athletic fee by $5.20.

Tech also is proposing an increase in housing rates an average of 2 percent and in dining plans of 2.4 percent.

The SGA has reduced key fees for two consecutive years, such as the library fee, Patton said.

The athletic fee had not been increased in five years, he added.

Tech is simply outgrowing its fee structure, which was set five years ago, he explained.

Patton isn't sure fellow students will understand their tuition cost will help fund a better education.

"I think like anything else, it's up to the administration to sell students on the recommendations. Student government made the recommendations on the fees. It's the only avenue student government has influence in when it comes to what students pay when it comes to Texas Tech," he said. "Student government is left out of what students pay for tuition, and that's unfortunate."

Yvette Molina, a Tech sophomore, said she has more than $10,000 in loans already. She said she believes the tuition increase will negatively affect students, especially ones who work to pay for school.

"I don't get financial aid, so I have to pay for it, so (the tuition increase) kind of sucks," she said.

Tech was No. 7 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings among schools with students graduating with the least debt. Tech students' debt declined to 17 percent in 2010 from the previous year, according to a university news release.

Tom Quintero, a graduate student, said the slight increase doesn't sound like a big change. He said he has a teaching assistantship, which waves a large portion of his tuition, and his scholarships pay the remainder.

"Everyone I know, (graduate students) are all in the same boat. Nearly everyone I've come across has ... financial stability," he said.

According to numbers provided by the Student Financial Aid Office, there were 10,082 grant recipients for 2010-11 for $104,747,737 and 10,831 scholarship recipients for $19,866,465.

Jacob Luna, a sophomore, said he's not upset by the tuition increase.

"I guess it's worth it to get a good education," he said. "You're making a life for yourself."

In comparison with other universities in the Big 12 Conference, Tech ranks 10th in a list comparing tuition and fees based on fall 2011 data.

When considering 12 hours per semester, and 24 semester credit hours per year, Tech's annual tuition and fee cost was $7,380 for Texas residents. Texas Christian University's in-state tuition was highest at $32,490, followed by Baylor University's at $31,658, and the University of Texas at Austin at $9,794.

Non-residents at Tech paid $14,892 for 24 hours, more than double in-state tuition.

The Tech Health Sciences Center also proposed tuition and fee increases Thursday:

� The School of Allied Health Sciences: 1.98 percent.

� Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences: 2.98 percent.

� School of Medicine: 4.39 percent.

� Paul Foster School of Medicine: 4.29 percent.

� School of Nursing, Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing: 4.29 percent.

� School of Pharmacy: 4.07 percent.

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