MTSU’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve a 4.49% tuition increase on Tuesday, adding a $189 increase per semester for undergraduate, in-state students based on 15 credit hours.
The tuition increase also adds $59.50 to mandatory student fees, with most of those funds going toward MTSU athletics. The largest mandatory fee is dedicated to the athletic department, at $396 per student, per semester, for a total of approximately $16,483,104 over the fiscal year based on last year’s estimated student population of 20,812.
This amount is more than double the second-largest allocation directed at Student Debt Services and follows the highest tuition hike over the last decade at 6.49%, which the Board of Trustees also approved unanimously last summer.
“Affordability has always been a priority,” board chair Stephen Smith said. “Even with the proposed tuition increases, the university continues to prioritize access and value for students and families.”
The proposal displayed no increase for student athletics, both on the Board Members’ paperwork and on online documents. Board members Michai Mosby and Kari Neely expressed concern about the lack of an amount listed in the proposal for athletics, given that they knew there was an increase. Vice president of communications Andrew Oppmann and director of athletics Chris Massaro specified the budget calls for an additional $19 per student each semester.
MTSU athletics received the bulk of the mandatory fee growth last summer, a move MTSU’s Student Government Organization denounced, citing little student involvement in these financial decisions. SGA released a statement prior to this year’s decision that similarly addressed student representation.
“Unlike every other campus department or office requesting additional student fees, Athletics had not engaged with students or the Student Government Association in a meaningful way during the fee proposal process,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, many of those same concerns remain today.”
This approved budget marks the third time since 2023 that the Board of Trustees directed student-supported funding toward athletics without student involvement in the proposal, according to SGA’s statement.
The room was filled with student leaders, both past and present, as former SGA president, RJ Ware, and current president Kennedy Garrett sat in the meeting. Mosby, the Board of Trustees’ student trustee and former SGA president, expressed his concerns in three categories: “process, precedence and transparency.”
Mosby felt that if the board approved the budget, it would set a precedent for other areas of MTSU to disengage their student involvement.
“It is a standing practice that entities are to consult the SGA, get student feedback and come to the board with those comments,” Mosby said. “It did not happen in 2023, and it was the understanding that that would not happen again. It has … I’m concerned that sets a precedent that accountability and compliance is optional.”
Neely echoed this sentiment, adding that she cannot say with confidence why athletics is receiving an increase in funds or what that would look like given their set budget.
“I think it would go a long way if we had more clarity on that to help the public accept why we make those adjustments,” Neely said. “Especially in a time where there’s high inflation and this will actually have an impact on the pocketbook of the families and the students that we really do care about.”
Smith countered their concern, noting that the fee allocation was not something the committee was aware of when it approved the proposal. Smith added that “maybe next year” the board would seek further student involvement.
“None of you guys asked those questions at the committee, and both of you are on the committee,” Smith said.
Neely clarified that at the committee meeting, she cast her vote to approve the proposal solely to put it on the agenda, not to endorse it.
In response to SGA concerns last week, Massaro told Sidelines that the majority of the athletic department’s allotment is directed at the Murphy Center renovation – which he said will benefit all students.
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