A proposal to charge Carlson School of Management undergraduates $2,000 a year more than their classmates got decision-makers' tough questions -- but mostly their support -- in a meeting Thursday.
That so-called "surcharge," if passed, would be phased in over several years. The resulting $4.9 million in new revenue would be spent mostly on faculty.
Carlson's interim dean, Sri Zaheer, described to a U Board of Regents committee Thursday the reasons she believes the so-called tuition surcharge is necessary to compete with peer business schools.
By adding faculty, the school would be able to bring down class sizes and make sure students are taught more often by tenure or tenure-track faculty, rather than temporary instructors.
"We do an extremely efficient job in the Carlson School," she said, referencing larger-than-average class sizes. "Is that the best job? I don't think so. I think we could do better."
Regent John Frobenius said that he was disappointed in the lack of data used to support the proposal. That proposal, he said, only has "a statement that says, if admissions go up, we have to raise the price for students."
"And that is not a compelling reason in my head."
Regent Steve Sviggum told the group that he supports the proposal but worries about some of the surcharge's revenue going toward scholarships for low-income students. "I do have this concern about redistribution -- raising tuition rates for all, spreading across to some," he said. "Shouldn't that be done through private philanthropy?"
