Knox Times

The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees approved a $1.76 billion budget for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus Friday that includes a zero percent tuition increase for the 2022–23 academic year. This is the third consecutive year the board has approved no increases for undergraduate and graduate tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students.

UT’s 2022–23 budget represents an 11.3 percent increase over the previous year and includes more than $312 million in state investments. Specific state appropriations include the following:

• A 4 percent salary pool for the second year in a row to fund merit and market increases for employees
• $72 million to fully fund the UT–Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, a partnership that brings together UT’s graduate students and world-class faculty with scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• $4 million in recurring funding, with an additional initial $2 million, to launch and sustain a new nonpartisan Institute for American Civics at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy
• $2.9 million for the College of Veterinary Medicine

The board approved modifications to academic programs, including the following:

• Elevating the Africana studies concentration to a freestanding Bachelor of Arts in Africana studies in the new Department of Africana Studies
• Adding a Bachelor of Arts in physics to improve the program’s graduation rate and regional standing by preparing more alumni for in-demand jobs
• Elevating the Master of Science degree in industrial engineering with an engineering management concentration to a freestanding Master of Science degree in engineering management
• A new Bachelor of Science in public health program in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, which will begin in fall 2022

The board also took the following actions:

• Approved a $108 million budget increase for the ongoing Neyland Stadium renovations due to the addition of new project scope and amenities as well as increases in labor, materials, and other construction costs
• Approved a measure that will classify military-affiliated students— veterans, active-duty military personnel, reservists, Tennessee National Guard members, and Army and Air Force ROTC cadets— as Tennessee residents in order to receive in-state tuition
• Approved Carrie Castille as the next senior vice chancellor and senior vice president for the UT Institute of Agriculture effective July 1
• Elected Trustee John Compton to serve a third term as board chair for a two-year term ending June 30, 2024. Compton’s term as chair would have concluded at the end of this month

_{Source: https://news.utk.edu/2022/06/24/board-approves-zero-percent-tuition-increase-for-third-year-in-a-row/}