Use of Funds from Tuition Increases

UTPA will use the funds raised by the tuition increase to address its three over arching goals: (1) Undergraduate access and timely graduation, (2) Enhancement of graduate education and research, and (3) Improvement of organizational effectiveness. More specifically the funds would allow the institution to:

• Hire an additional 43 faculty members ($2,355,000) in FY 2007 and an additional 45 faculty members ($2,475,000) in FY 2008. This will enable the University to maintain reasonable class sizes and a timely graduation imperative, while addressing the adjustment in the faculty workload needed to promote research activity. These additional faculty are necessary in order to effect scheduling and instructional adjustments tied to timely graduation initiatives.
• Hire additional staff totaling $900,000 in FY 2007 and again in FY 2008 (an estimated 51 new hires over two years if using an average salary of $35,000). These additional staff are needed for advising and counseling needs as well as other timely graduation initiatives.
• Provide an estimated $1,650,000 in annual salary adjustments to faculty and staff which are comparable to those provided in fiscal year 2006. These increases are necessary to keep UTPA competitive in the increasingly tight academic labor market.
• Cover an estimated $1.2 million increase in annual utility costs.
• Cover the cost of transferring certain staff positions from capital projects to the general operating budget.
• Provide $1.8 million in need-based financial assistance to students in FY 2007 and an additional $1.2 million in FY 2008.
• Provide an additional $1.6 million for retention and timely graduation initiatives in FY 2007 and increment the amount by an additional $300,000 in FY 2008.
• Further develop and enhance graduate programs (using revenue generated from the graduate differential tuition increase).