UTC Tuition Rises With Maintenance Fee

CHATTANOOGA, TN, (WDEF)-While Governor Haslam is pushing for free community college education  UT trustees are raising their fees.

"Every June they approve new fees, they approved a 6% maintenance fee increase for all UT well for UTC and Martin, Knoxville does their fees a little differently"

Cantrell says the University is not receiving as much state funding  and the maintenance fee will help with new building construction and repairs.

"Need to raise a certain amount of their own money to build new facilities and so in a way to do that  for campuses as we don’t readily have  a pot of millions of dollars just sitting around for a building that is what this facilities fee is for"

Students say they received an email about the hike yesterday.

Megan McKay, Art Education,"It was about the tuition raise I am not very excited about it, I don’t have a lot of money to start with i do get scholarships that does help a lot but being a senior i am just ready to get out"

Dillard Woodall, Psychology Senior,"I’ve noticed just a lot of random fees on my tuition from before, 226 for this random lab fee that I didn’t even have a lab in or janitor fee, just a 50 dollar here a 50 dollar there"

Woodall welcomes Haslam’s Drive To 55 iniative for free community college but says that isnt going to help those graduating right now.

"Just because I know my initial start up fee it was the hardest part, even now needing the money now to stay in, I guess them charging us more in the long run is going to propel me to be here another semester who knows"

UTC confirmed 3 out of every 4 students receive grants or scholarships to attend.

They added that they are no where the most expensive university in this region.