Special Meeting of the USM Board of Regents to
Consider New Tuition Policy

Adelphi, MD - The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents will reconsider a recommendation to require USM institutions with undergraduate programs to develop four-year tuition plans. This recommendation is one of several developed by the University System of Maryland Tuition and Fee Task Force, appointed by USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan in October 2002.

The policy was discussed at the December 12, 2003 board meeting (rescheduled from December 5, 2003), but final action was tabled.

The board will again consider the task force's final report and recommendations at a special public meeting scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m., Friday, December 19, 2003. The meeting will be held in the Chancellor's Conference Room at the Elkins Building, 3300 Metzerott Road, Adelphi, Maryland.

At the public hearings sponsored by the tuition task force during the past year, speakers expressed the need for tuition predictability. Institutional four-year plans would help to ensure some level of predictability, according to the group's report. Other task force recommendations include a proposal to link expected state appropriations and funding guidelines to enrollment and efficiency targets. Task force members included students, parents, administrators, and regents.