MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- College students from around the nation are converging on the mid-state to begin the new school year.
Tennessee State, Middle Tennessee State, Lipscomb, and Belmont will all begin classes Monday. Vanderbilt students head to class next Friday.
Students returning to Tennessee's public universities can expect to see tuition increases of four percent or less. Officials say this year's cost increases are the lowest in more than a decade.
But in an address delivered Thursday morning to staff and faculty, Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee said he believes the State of Tennessee is already asking students to pay too much.
He noted that state government contributions to the cost of higher education have fallen dramatically in recent years, even as the state enjoys significant budget surpluses.
“With a major surplus, and a commitment to expand educational opportunities available to our citizens, I believe – ladies and gentlemen – that the state should have made a higher priority of higher education. Note I said ‘should,’ but they did not.”
McPhee said he will challenge legislators to do more in the coming fiscal year.
Beyond budget concerns, MTSU and five other large state schools are bracing for significant changes in oversight.
Legislation championed by Gov. Bill Haslam and passed by Tennessee legislators this past spring stripped governance of MTSU, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, East Tennessee State, Austin Peay State, and the University of Memphis from the Board of Regents.
The schools are being asked to take on a number of new administrative duties. They’ll also be adjusting to oversight by Boards of Directors appointed by the governor for each school.