Students at East Tennessee State University are joining forces with about 500 other students from colleges and universities around the state. They’re planning to a rally in front of the state capital on January 13. There mission is to get state leaders to rethink expected education cuts.
"This is the future of higher education that we're talking about," said TJ Mitchell, E-T-S-U student.
Students are also upset with the Tennessee Board of Regents decision at a meeting on the ETSU campus on December 2 to remove the current cap on tuition. This means students will pay for higher education based on the amount of hours in which they are enrolled.
During last months meeting regents said removing the flat fee for full time student tuition and requiring a pay-per-hour fee structure was the only alternative to another tuition increase. Mitchell and other students don’t agree and say the board has indirectly increased tuition for students.
The plan to remove the tuition cap will go into affect next fall.
"That's a huge tuition increase that's happened and I sometimes wonder if the Board of Regents actually knew what they were voting on when they voted on that in December," Mitchell said.
Last year, Governor Phil Bredesen ordered state colleges to slash their budgets and as lawmakers head back to Nashville more cuts are on the table for higher education.
"We've been cut and cut and cut over the past few years and you just can't keep cutting something that you've already cut in the past," Mitchell said.
Mitchell and other students hope more students from E-T-S-U and across the state will join them in Nashville on Tuesday.
“It should be important to all students, it’s affecting their education,” said Trey Robb, E-T-S-U student.
The group hopes to take their concerns all the way to the states highest office. They’re trying to set up a meeting with Governor Phil Bredesen sometime on Tuesday.
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