Gutless U.T. Politburo can't discuss TUITION HIKE in normal setting....

“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:21

Earlier this week, the U.T. Board of Regents received a presentation about the pending system-wide tuition hikes:

To that end, the Board of Regents, meeting in Galveston on Wednesday, discussed the Austin flagship’s proposal to raise academic charges $304 per semester, or 6.2 percent, by fall 2017. The regents also considered increases sought by the UT System’s other academic and health campuses, but they didn’t take a vote. That likely will happen before the end of the month, and at this juncture there appears to be little doubt that some sort of increase will be approved for UT-Austin and the other campuses.

“Most of our tuition and fees are at or well below the national averages,” said system Chancellor Bill McRaven, who strongly endorsed the proposed increases.

A few regents asked pointed questions. Regent Alex Cranberg wasn’t thrilled by McRaven’s reference to how much the increases per semester for the various campuses work out to on a daily basis.

“How about 7 cents a minute?” Cranberg said. “It feels like we’re getting sold something.”

Regent David Beck wondered whether campuses could do more to cut costs.

 The Regents heard the presentation, but didn't actually vote; according to the System's press release:

The Board of Regents is expected to vote on the proposals later this month.

[Sidenote: If you're interested in a HILARIOUS example of political spin, the entire press release is worth a read.]

In other words, they ran away to Galveston to hear the tuition presentations while the actual vote will take place in a special called meeting via conference call.

Bottom Line: While everything they've done complies with the relevant laws, the fact that they couldn't hear the presentation and take a vote at a regular meeting IN AUSTIN (where it's easy to cover) tells you everything you need to know about the unpopularity of this tuition hike....