Why is tuition rising nationally at rates higher than the Consumer Price Index?
Higher education is more dependent on labor costs than is the economy in general. Since the 1980s, the proportion of state budgets going to the support of higher education has been declining. In Texas, tax dollars (General Revenue) account for only 17.9 percent of the total UT System budget. State general revenue funding per student continues to decline, increasing pressures for both efficiency and increased revenue from other sources such as tuition and fees.
