Working closely with the Board of Regents and Chancellor, the Office of Academic Affairs oversees tuition and fee strategies across the eight academic institutions and facilitates required approvals in accordance with laws and policies. In support of this effort, the following guidelines were developed to assist tuition and fee planning efforts and to promote consistent practices across campuses.
Approval Processes
At the core of UT System’s tuition setting process is a philosophy that tuition rates should be predictable and limited to what is necessary to achieve institutional goals within the context of a comprehensive financial plan. Therefore, other sources of revenues, including state appropriations, are closely examined and leveraged before increases to tuition and fees are considered.
Tuition & Mandatory Fees
Tuition and mandatory fee rates are subject to approval by the UT System Board of Regents.
Delegated Fees and Charges
Approval authority for delegated fees and charges, including incidental fees and course fees, is delegated to presidents in Regents’ Rule 40401, conditioned on prior review and approval by the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Each fall, the Office of Academic Affairs sends out instructions for submitting requests to increase non-mandatory fees for the following academic year.
Non-substantive changes to delegated fees can be made throughout the year and only require notification to the Office of Academic Affairs. To submit a non-substantive fee change notification, please email a brief description to Lydia Riley, Chief of Staff, Academic Affairs at lriley@utsystem.edu. The following are considered non-substantive changes:
- Discontinuation of fees
- Reduction of fee charges
- Fee name changes
- Modified criteria for assessing a fee (e.g., expanding a previously approved course fee to additional courses/broader student population)
Starting in Spring 2021, the Office of Academic Affairs recognizes Inclusive Access course material charges as course fees. The template linked below must be submitted each semester no later than one week after your institution’s deadline for faculty to submit textbook information to the bookstore in accordance with TEC 51.452. Submission of the notification template is all that is required to establish approval by the Executive Vice Chancellor.
