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Significant Tuition Hikes Likely at State Colleges, Tech Schools

Emily West for WMOT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WEST) — Tennessee college students attending classes in the fall could see nearly a 9 percent hike in their tuition.

The Tennessee Board of Regents oversees six state universities, 13 community colleges and 27 colleges of applied technology.

It's proposing a nearly 7 percent tuition increase for its universities, just under 6 percent for community colleges and 8.5 percent for its technical institutions.

For Lane Gonzales, a senior MTSU psychology student, the tuition hike is going to impact his final year of college because he will have to pay even more. 

“If they want an increase, they should allow us to have an opinion,” Gonzales said. “Why are they increasing it, and do they think that it’s worth it.”

It’s going to affect Gonzales’ classmate Lindsey Platt’s family even more. The senior psychology major has her tuition money paid through scholarships, but that is not the case for her younger brother. 

“If there is any amount of increase that is just additional that my parents would have to pay, and they are having to pay for my little brother to start college this fall,” Platt said.

Board members are scheduled to vote on the hikes Thursday.

Students in the University of Tennessee system could also see a 6 percent hike in tuition. The UT Board of Trustees will also scheduled to vote on the increase Thursday.

The hikes are mostly a result of state revenue shortfalls that prevented the Legislature from appropriating new funds.