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There will be no further increases in tuition costs for spring 2004 but Phil Diebel, vice president for finance, said students should probably count on another tuition hike for the fall 2005 semester.

How much of a cost increase remains to be seen. Diebel said the NT Board of Regents will probably vote on the potential increase next February after he and other university administrators present the regents with an idea of NT's financial needs for the 2006/2007 fiscal year.

"More and more of the costs are being pushed onto students," Diebel said. He was straightforward in the deliverance of this statement with a sympathetic wince. Diebel understands the financially strapped student's pain, like many other NT administrators, but he isn't totally optimistic about increased state appropriations or his ability to perform in-house budget wizardry in order to keep NT's tuition costs low.

In fact, Diebel noted, Governor Rick Perry asked NT to cut its amount of state funding by five percent for the 2006/2007 fiscal year. This comes after the state legislature ordered NT to cut its amount of state funding by seven percent in 2003.

Tuition deregulation took hold in September of last year to help make up for years of inadequate state funding for Texas' universities. All state institutions were allowed to set their own tuition rates. Last spring the NT Board of Regents voted to increase its mandated tuition by $22 per semester credit hour from $53. The actual per credit hour cost to attend NT is currently $123 after adding in the state's mandated tuition rate of $48.

Board Chairwoman Gayle Strange said the decision to raise tuition was a tough one. "I'm never for anything that is going to be difficult for students," Strange said. But, according to Strange, when students want to attend a first-rate university there is a reality factor to consider. That "reality factor" can be seen in Diebel's statistics.

NT's state funding has decreased steadily for decades. Fifteen percent of all state legislative appropriations went to fund Texas' institutions of higher education this year versus 50 percent in 1974. Members of the Texas State Senate Committee on Higher Education could not be reached for comment, but officials speaking for the committee blamed the legislature's 2003 budget cut mandate on a statewide budget shortfall.

Why a budget shortfall? The increasing demands of funding grades K through 12, of funding state highway projects, of funding state hospitals -- name it. Diebel said the state legislature is continually giving grades K through 12 a higher funding priority because the choice to attend a university is discretionary. Attendance in grades K through 12 is not an option.

A Dallas Morning News analysis found that Texas universities collectively raised about $262 million in additional funds after tuition deregulation. NT raised $16 million. Over half of that amount was spent on merit raises for faculty and staff. Twenty-four percent of NT's tuition deregulation funds were spent on financial aid. Nine percent of the additional funds were spent on hiring new faculty members.

Financial aid resources increased but according to Carolyn Cunningham, head of NT financial aid, the numbers can be deceiving. The average annual award of both Stafford loans and unsubsidized loans for each qualified NT student is projected at $8,777 dollars for the 2004/2005 fiscal year. The 2004/2005 tuition and fee cost is set at $5,561.

Possibly impressive at first glance, but Cunningham said the $5,561 figure does not take into account students' room and board, transportation or textbook costs. In the 2003/2004 fiscal year 64 percent of NT's financial aid recipients took out additional loans after accepting their Stafford loan awards to make ends meet. Seventy-four percent of financial aid recipients are expected to do the same during the 2004/2005 fiscal year, after the effects of tuition deregulation firmly take hold.

"I encourage students and parents to file their taxes early and apply for financial aid early," Cunningham said. "Those who apply early will get the best aid package." Student Government Association president Jesse Davis, Denton senior, said he will do all he can to prevent further tuition increases.

"The administration is going to be selling the tuition increase," Davis said. "I can't really tell what the board is going to say. Five percent is a pretty hefty cut but there has to be something we can do. Individual sob stories aren't going to sway the board very much."

Davis said he hopes to have individual meetings with board members and plans to continue dialogue with university administrators on the issue. If worse comes to worse Davis said he would not be opposed to organizing a large-scale student protest at the February regents meeting. "Two regents voted against the tuition increase," Davis said. "Hopefully we will be able to find similar support."

Regent Burle Pettit voted against this year's tuition increase last spring. "I don't want to start looking to students every time additional revenue is needed," Pettit said. "NT has historically been the best quality education for the money. It has been our franchise and we should not easily give it up."

Pettit said the university could not get by without last year's tuition increase but assured that he would carefully review another proposed increase before voting yay or nay.

Administrators are discussing alternatives to increasing tuition, including four-year fixed tuition rates for students or tuition rates based on certain criteria. Strange said the possibility to implement these plans instead of another tuition hike could be greater if the state legislature appropriates more funding to specific projects throughout the university. This would free up more of the university's general fund to potentially offset another sharp increase.

"There are always ways," Strange said. "We have lots of choices to make and a lot of things to balance."

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