Students at Utah universities, colleges asked to dig deeper

A statewide wave of tuition increases is hitting college students as universities and colleges look to cover multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls. Last week, Weber State University approved a 4.5-percent resident tuition increase while Utah Valley University's board of trustees voted Thursday to increase tuition by 4.5 percent as well. Trustees at Southern Utah University approved an 11 percent tuition increase Friday and Utah State University students face a 6 percent jump. University of Utah trustees plan to meet Monday to approve an estimated 8 percent increase. All the colleges in Utah are also proposing increases. The increases must still be approved by the State Board of Regents, which is expected to announce a 1.5 percent "first-tier" tuition increase Thursday on top of the "second-tier" increases proposed by each university, making a 4.5 local tuition hike into a 6 percent rise. Deseret News