[U]niversity of Vermont officials say changing a 60-year-old law limiting tuition for Vermonters to a portion of out-of-state tuition would help bring in more students and more revenue.
Under state law, tuition for Vermont students at the university cannot exceed 40 percent of the tuition charged for students from out of state.
UVM President Tom Sullivan told the House Education Committee on Tuesday that the statute prevents the university from reducing tuition for out-of-state students. He described the law as “practical, non-strategic, non-visionary.”
“We are locked in a formula that does not give us the discretion to be able to moderate the growth or actually reduce out-of-state tuition,” Sullivan said.
The state budget bill that passed the House last month includes a section that repeals the “40 percent” law. The bill is now under review by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Sullivan argues that unlinking the in-state and out-of-state rates would allow the university to bring down the cost of attendance for non-Vermont residents, which would help the university bring in more students. He says it wouldn’t drive up costs for in-state students.
For Vermont residents, tuition for the 2016-17 academic year will be $15,096, according to the university website. It will be $38,160 for out-of-state residents. The university is the fourth most expensive public institution for out-of-state students, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Sullivan said potential students who do not live in Vermont are sometimes dissuaded from attending the university because of the high sticker price.
A change in the statute would not have any impact on tuition for Vermonters at the university, according to him.
Sullivan said 44 percent of Vermonters attend UVM tuition-free, because of scholarships or other aid, and that wouldn’t change in the absence of the 40 percent rule.
There are many checks and balances in place to prevent in-state tuition from running wild, he said.
The university’s board of trustees is charged with the responsibility of setting tuition rates through what Sullivan said is a transparent process that involves public hearings. Additionally, he testifies several times a year before legislative committees, offering lawmakers many opportunities to check in and curb the growth of in-state tuition if they feel it is getting too expensive.
Rep. David Sharpe, D-Bristol, the chair of the House Education Committee, said repealing the law is a start but does not fully address the problem.
“What we should really do is more fully support postsecondary education in Vermont,” Sharpe said.
Sharpe said abolishing the 40 percent rule would give the university some greater flexibility to meet its financial obligations, just as an $800,000 increase in the appropriation to the Vermont State Colleges in the House version of the budget will give that system some financial support.
“Neither is the kind of substantial support those schools need, but that’s about all that we’re going to manage to do this session,” Sharpe said.