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Changing in-state tuition requirements doesn't increase tax revenue
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The $5 million that was supposed to be generated when the Legislature changed residency requirements for Utah colleges and universities did not materialize, the Utah Foundation says.
In 2001, the Legislature passed a bill that increased the time a nonresident student had to be in Utah to be eligible for in-state tuition.
Nonresidents pay about three times as much as in-state students.
The bill raised the standard for in-state tuition to about two years of study, rather than one year. A fiscal note appended to the bill said the changes should generate $5 million in new revenues to shore up flagging tax revenues.
But the net effect of the bill in the first year was to discourage out-of-state students.
Some who paid nonresident tuition for their freshman year, anticipating resident status, did not return for a second year of nonresident tuition, the foundation found.
In retrospect, "It appears (the bill) was too much, too fast and too stringent," said Commissioner for Higher Education Cecelia Foxley.
Rep. Loraine T. Pace, R-Logan, has been considering sponsoring amendments to the bill that would reduce the 60-hour requirement to 45 hours and make other adjustments in the legislation to make it less onerous to nonresidents.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
