Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

USM Board of Regents Approves New Tuition Policy;
Also Calls for Compact with State Leaders

Adelphi, MD - The The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents approved a recommendation to require USM institutions with undergraduate programs to develop four-year tuition plans. The recommendation is part of the new tuition policy unanimously approved by the board at its December 19 meeting. The USM Tuition and Fee Task Force, appointed by Chancellor William E. Kirwan, proposed the policy for board consideration.

At the public hearings sponsored by the tuition task force during the past year, speakers expressed the need for tuition predictability. Institutional four-year plans would help to ensure some level of predictability, according to the task force report.

The new policy also calls for annual updates of the four-year plans. "Each institution will update annually a four-year tuition plan based on assumptions and on a format provided by the Chancellor, related to projected state appropriation, funding guidelines target and planned enrollment levels," according to the policy. "Changes proposed in the annual update should address changes in assumptions that caused the recommended revision to tuition rates."

Other task force recommendations included a proposal to link expected state appropriations and funding guidelines to enrollment and efficiency targets. Jerry Heeger, president of University of Maryland University College, chaired the task force. Members included students, parents, administrators, and regents. In other business at its December 19 meeting, the Board of Regents unanimously passed a resolution calling on Maryland's state leaders to join the board in a compact to "provide an adequate and reliable appropriation of state funds to meet the state's fair share of higher education costs . . . as funds become available."

The full resolution is available by clicking here.