KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee's Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to increase the tuition for in-state and out-of-state students starting during the fall 2024 semester.
Tuition will increase by 2% for in-state students. In-state students paid $13,484 in tuition during the 2023-2024 academic year, according to UT. Starting fall 2024, out-of-state students will also need to pay 4% more for their tuition. During the previous academic year, they had to pay $31,974 in tuition.
It is the first time tuition will increase since the 2019-2020 academic year, according to UT. In a release, the school said the extra money will go to supporting institutional scholarships, expanded academic offerings and student services. It will also help add capacity to instructional programs, UT said.
UT said the board also approved increasing the school's mandatory technology fee and its transportation fee. Students will need to pay $60 more for the technology fee. The extra money will support hybrid and fully remote technology capabilities and "the number of devices using bandwidth on campus."
Students will also need to pay $40 more for the transportation fee to fund additional routes and buses for the university's transportation system.
The online fee will also increase by $44 to help build the infrastructure needed to "provide targeted success coaches for each online learner and increase the likelihood of retention and degree completion."
The Board of Trustees also decided to change the university's guaranteed admissions policy. Starting in fall 2025, applicants living in Tennessee and who attend a Tennessee high school will be eligible for guaranteed admission if they get a 4.0 GPA or higher, or finish in the top 10% of their graduating class. They also need to get an ACT score of 24 or higher or an SAT score of 1160 or higher.
Guaranteed admission was previously offered to high school students who were either among the top 10% of their graduating class or who had at least a 4.0 GPA.
The board also decided to let UT enter lease agreements meant to help enrollment continue to grow, support research and further collaborate with industry leaders. First, it blessed an agreement with Core Spaces to create a new Vol Dining facility in a price student apartment complex to be built on Cumberland Avenue.
The five-year lease would come at a cost of $2.8 million, with an option to extend it. The board also approved spending around $3.5 million to furnish and equip the space. The landlord of the private apartment building would provide around $586,000 in funds for improvements and the new dining space is expected to be open in August 2025. It will be operated by Aramark Educational Services.
The board also approved a lease to expand the College of Architecture and Design into the former Southern Railroad Depot complex, on West Depot Avenue. UT will lease space in two buildings to create a design studio, classroom and office space along with parking. UT said the college is expected to increase by around 30% over the next four or five years.
The lease would cost around $4.8 million, and the board allowed UT to spend $2.7 million to furnish and equip the space. The landlord of that space will also provide more than $2.6 million for infrastructure improvements, including new roofing and HVAC systems.
UT is also expected to use around $9 million to build out a space in the Ortho Tennessee building and establish the Center for Precision Health, meant to expand research capabilities and deepen collaboration with human biomedicine, computational health, orthopedics, kinesiology and translational research industries, according to a release from the university.