UT Watch is committed to supporting diversity, accessibility, affordability, and democracy for Texas' institutions of higher education. To these ends, UT Watch opposes public institutions of higher education to be run like corporations, lacking accountability and public input.

Bill Watch: A resource to track bills relating to higher education. Resources for students to get involved in issues affecting them. Issues UT Watch will be focusing on 5 issue areas for the 79th Legislature: Tuition Relief: Repealing tuition deregulation Preserving the Top Ten Percent Plan Increasing state grants for Texas students and state funding of Texas' universities and colleges Fight for free speech Support a voting student member of the Board of Regents

Since tuition deregulation was passed two years ago, tuition has skyrocketed from $1,862 in the fall of 2003 to $2,188 in fall of 2004, a 17.5 percent jump. A majority of Texans, 58 percent, believe that tuition should be set by the Legislature, and not by universities. Higher tuition is bad for the economy, because it restricts access to Texas universities. Tuition-setting authority needs to be in the hands of responsive lawmakers!

The Top Ten Percent Plan promotes race, class, and geographic diversity better than affirmative action or other proposed admissions policies. Studies have shown that Top Ten students typically have better academic records in college than other students. Instead of capping Top Ten, Texas should provide more top tier schools to prevent the overflow of Top Ten students into UT-Austin. 82% of Texans say they support the Top Ten Percent plan as it stands.

The current budget plans are proposing slashing the TEXAS Grants budget and cutting its recipients. Cutting TEXAS Grants will have a detrimental effect on minority populations in Texas universities since Hispanics and African-Americans have received 46% and 13% of all grants awarded, respectively. TEXAS Grant program and the Texas Tomorrow Fund have been severely hurt by the effects of tuition deregulation, and restoring cut funding to these programs, as well as placing caps back on tuition, is critical to improving access to higher education.

Freedom of speech is crucial in a free society, especially on college campuses. Those from all sides of the political spectrum can agree on HB 487 since it would allow students less restrictions in exercising their right to free speech.

UT Watch supports adding a student to the Boards of Regents/Trustees of universities around the state of Texas. Nevertheless, we would rather see a selection process in which the students, rather than the Governor, had the responsibility for choosing who should represent them. We do hope that something is done to address the problems of state universities being run by unresponsive, unelected, and unqualified friends of the Governor.