NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Middle Tennessee State University Board of Trustees voted Tuesday, June 20, to raise tuition and fees by 2.98%.
MTSUstudents are on edge after learning that costs to attend the university will go up. Some students understand the hike but think they should've been more involved in the decision-making.
Michai Mosby, the MTSU Student Government Association (SGA) President, is proud to advocate for students' interests.
He understands the importance of affordability in education."Every student wants to be able to afford their education and not break their arm or their leg," Mosby said.
However, starting in the fall semester, tuition and fees at MTSU will increase by nearly 3 percent following a board of trustee's vote.
The board argues that the fee hike is necessary to meet rising utility costs, enhance scholarship levels, and make renovations to the Murphy Center Complex.
Nevertheless, some students, like Denzel Harris, a junior at MTSU, hold a different perspective. Harris believes that sports and sponsorship play a crucial role in generating revenue for colleges but thinks there are other areas on campus that need more attention.
"That's what a sponsorship are for in my opinion, and alumni in my opinion," Harris said.
While most students have faith in the board of trustees; they wish they had been more involved in the decision-making process.
Mosby acknowledges that the university has a standing practice of involving student input when any campus entity proposes a fee increase. However, he questions why this practice wasn't fully followed this time, saying, "What happened this time around that didn't happen all the way."
According to Harris, the only communication they received was an email asking for options and suggestions. It appears that students feel their voices were not adequately heard in this instance.
In response, the SGA sent a letter to the board expressing their concerns. Although the matter was discussed at the meeting, both Mosby and Harris believe that students should have been more directly involved.
"There has been much discussion about how we're going to change this moving forward to have better communication. The board was pretty much open to making sure this doesn't happen again. They were very apologetic that student input wasn't as it should've been this time," Mosby said.
Despite this setback, Mosby remains hopeful that the next discussion regarding fee increases will involve students to a greater extent.
The fee hike will cost full-time in-state undergraduate students almost an additional $300 per semester.
