While most UT students pay less than $30,000 in tuition, fees and room and board, 58 private universities now set students back at least $50,000 per year.
The costs of maintaining top faculty and inflation have caused many universities to increase tuition. Because private universities do not receive state funding and their staff are paid more, their tuition remains the highest in a national comparison, said Kevin Hegarty, UT’s vice president and chief financial officer.
“At public institutions, you find people who take pride and have a sense of public service and don’t expect to get paid like a CEO,” Hegarty said.
Hegarty said the difference in paychecks and the amount of funding for public universities are factors that allow public universities to provide cheaper education. According to the American Association of University Professors, the average annual salary of a private university professor is $98,808, compared to the $84,488 average of a public university professor.
He said although students pay $9,000 in tuition each year, the actual cost of a student’s yearly education at UT is around $24,000. State funding and public donations make up the difference and cover nearly $15,000 of the actual cost.
“As much as people are concerned with tuition increases on campus, it’s still a great value for what it actually costs,” Hegarty said.
Although the price disparity for attending a private over a public university can amount to as much as $30,000, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that many of these institutions have not seen a drop in demand.
Sociology professor Chandra Muller said that universities won’t be short on students anytime soon as long as education maintains its status as a requirement for establishing a career. She said the recession also increases the demand for education.
“In tough economic times, people tend to go back to school to learn more methods for dealing with the bad economy,” Muller said.
Hegarty said that demand is elastic and private university tuition is near its snapping point, after which students will flock to more affordable alternatives. Overall, students are satisfied with what they pay at UT, he said.
Some student organizations on campus, including University Democrats, say students are paying too much for tuition. University Democrats President Melessa Rodriguez said she hopes to organize students to take a stand against tuition increases scheduled for 2011.
“The actual, final say at the end of the day on tuition isn’t even influenced by students,” Rodriguez said. “It’s unfortunate, but you still have other voices outweighing students.”
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