We are comitted to providing the best value in education.

The best education at the best price

Across Texas, public universities are grappling with unknown fiscal futures as public education funding is cast in an uncertain light in the state Legislature. Texas A&M University is no different. We too face the serious dilemma of how to provide our students with the best quality education and the most opportunities given decreased funding from the state.

In general, we receive revenues from three sources: The state, students and their families and gifts from donors. As any one of these sources provides less funding, we must receive additional funding from the others.

How we approach tuition and how the university sets policy when it comes to the amount each student pays for his education has been a topic of chief concern for the past few years. University President Robert Gates recently created a Tuition Policy Advisory Committee to address those very issues.

The tuition committee was composed of staff, faculty and students. I had the pleasure of serving on the committee, which identified three major goals with respect to tuition:

Tuition policy should encourage students to graduate on a timely basis. Setting flat tuition rates for a fixed number of hours and allowing any above that number to be free of charge could accomplish that.
Tuition policy should provide as much predictability as possible for students and their parents.
Tuition should be related to the amount of funding the state earmarks for Texas A&M. That means if the state maintains the current level of funding, increases in tuition could be lessened.

We are committed to providing the best value in education. If you examine our competitors’ quality and tuition, you can see we achieve this goal.

No decision about tuition for the upcoming school year is final yet. But conversations with students on the tuition committee have led me to believe that most of our students want a high quality education and are willing to pay for it. Like any businesspeople, they also want to see results for their increased costs, perhaps in the form of smaller class sizes or more class sections.

It is our goal at Mays and Texas A&M to continue to deliver both.

Best regards,

Jerry Strawser '83
Dean



	The best education at the best price Across Texas, public universities are grappling with unknown fiscal futures as public education funding is cast in an uncertain light in the state Legislature. Texas A&M University is no different. We too face the serious dilemma of how to provide our students with the best quality education and the most opportunities given decreased funding from the state. In general, we receive revenues from three sources: The state, students and their families and gifts from donors. As any one of these sources provides less funding, we must receive additional funding from the others. How we approach tuition and how the university sets policy when it comes to the amount each student pays for his education has been a topic of chief concern for the past few years. University President Robert Gates recently created a Tuition Policy Advisory Committee to address those very issues. The tuition committee was composed of staff, faculty and students. I had the pleasure of serving on the committee, which identified three major goals with respect to tuition: Tuition policy should encourage students to graduate on a timely basis. Setting flat tuition rates for a fixed number of hours and allowing any above that number to be free of charge could accomplish that. Tuition policy should provide as much predictability as possible for students and their parents. Tuition should be related to the amount of funding the state earmarks for Texas A&M. That means if the state maintains the current level of funding, increases in tuition could be lessened. We are committed to providing the best value in education. If you examine our competitors’ quality and tuition, you can see we achieve this goal. No decision about tuition for the upcoming school year is final yet. But conversations with students on the tuition committee have led me to believe that most of our students want a high quality education and are willing to pay for it. Like any businesspeople, they also want to see results for their increased costs, perhaps in the form of smaller class sizes or more class sections. It is our goal at Mays and Texas A&M to continue to deliver both. Best regards, Jerry Strawser '83 Dean