Students at Tennessee's public colleges and universities can plan on a tuition hike of at least 5 percent next fall and possibly fewer course offerings as a result of further cuts in state appropriations for the campuses, higher education officials said Friday.
At a meeting Thursday, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission endorsed the 5 percent tuition increase for the 2010-11 school year that starts next August. That recommendation was delivered to Gov. Phil Bredesen during higher education's state budget hearing Friday.
The recommendation is the first step in the long budget process; final action on tuition and fees won't be made until next summer, after the legislature approves the overall state budget.
But THEC and its two governing boards -- the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees and the Tennessee Board of Regents, which administers the University of Memphis and Southwest Tennessee Community College -- are using the 5 percent benchmark for planning purposes.