UT Board of Trustees approves record-low tuition increases

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) - The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees approved a plan to not raise tuition at the Knoxville and Chattanooga campuses, while UT Martin will have a 3 percent increase.

UT President Joe DiPietro credited the support of Gov. Bill Haslam and state legislature, as well as the board's commitment to low tuition. It's the first time since 1984 for zero percent increases.

“I’m also pleased that at a time when stories of high student debt make headlines, 44 percent of UT undergraduates finish with a bachelor’s and without debt,”

“That beats the national average of 30 percent of students graduating without debt.”

There will still be some fee increases at UT Knoxville. The student program fee will go up by $22 per student and the capital fee will increase by $14 per student. Any fee increases at UT Chattanooga will cover increased operating costs for specific programs.

UT Martin's fee increases include a program and service fee increase of $32 per student and the establishment of a $10 per student green fee to create a Center for Sustainability.

Also at the meeting, which was the current board's last, trustees approved the university’s request to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for funding $205 million in construction projects for fiscal year 2018-2019.

Those projects include $81.5 million for an energy and environmental science research building at UT Institute of Agriculture; $9.9 million for an audiology and speech pathology building for UT Health Science Center; $98 million for a nursing building at UT Knoxville; and $26.1 million for renovating Maclellan Gymnasium.