(St. George, UT) - The State Board of Regents approved new increases for tuition for Utah’s colleges and universities in a meeting Friday at Dixie State College. System-wide, the average total tuition increase for an undergraduate Utah resident is about 7.5% in annual tuition for 15 credit hours.

William Sederburg, Commissioner of Higher Education said, “Since 2008, Utah’s colleges and universities have faced yearly budget cuts now totaling roughly 14%. For years our institutions have had to consistently do more with less, now in order to protect access and quality it is necessary that some of the costs will have to be passed along to students in the form of higher tuition." However, Commissioner Sederburg said that tuition increases would have been much higher if the Legislature had approved an original 7% cut rather than the 2.5% they decided on earlier this month.

Board of Regents Chair David Jordan said, “State support for our colleges and universities has been steadily declining over recent years. We need to reverse that trend so that all of our institutions remain affordable, particularly at the community college level. We can’t continue to cover increasing costs with tuition hikes.” When compared to institutions in surrounding states, on average, tuition is lower at Utah’s colleges and universities.

Tuition at USHE institutions was approved in two tiers: Tier I tuition is an increase applied equally system-wide to assist institutions in covering various needs common to all institutions. The second tier comes as a recommendation from institution presidents only after discussion with Boards of Trustees and student hearings, as a means of covering institutional priorities and initiatives. The State Board of Regents must also approve Tier II tuition.

The following shows next year’s tuition increases for the state’s eight colleges and universities (based on a full year for an undergraduate student who is a Utah resident):

Dixie State College $2,940 11.80% $348 $3,288

Southern Utah University $4,196 11% $462 $4,658

Utah State University $4,346 9% $391 $4,737

USU-CEU $2,270 9% $204 $2,474

University of Utah 7.80% $423 $5,850

Utah Valley University $3,672 7.40% $272 $3,944

Snow College $2,356 7% $164 $2,520

Weber State University $3,559 6% $214 $3,773

Salt Lake Community College $2,520 5% $120 $2,640

Tuition increases take effect the summer term of 2011. For more information on the Utah System of Higher Education, go to www.higheredutah.org.