While the pharmacy colleges tuition is average compared to in-state privately funded
institutions, tuition cost at the states only publicly funded pharmacy college, the
University of Tennessee, is considerably less.
To further compound the matter, just this year, the University of Tennessees College
of Pharmacy began offering a 75 percent tuition discount to all out-of-state students
living within a 200-mile radius of their main campus in Memphis or its satellite campuses
in Nashville or Knoxville.
Prospective students hailing from as far away as Atlanta, Charlotte and Little Rock,
Arkansas, can now take UT pharmacy classes for $9,675 less than what students would
pay to attend the Gatton College of Pharmacy.
Both in-state and out-of-state ETSU pharmacy students pay $35,038 annually for tuition,
while UT in-state pharmacy students pay $21,520 and out-of-state students pay $41,100.
UTs pharmacy school does, however, require all Tennessee students to relocate to Memphis
for at least one year before having an opportunity to attend the Nashville or Knoxville
campuses, posing geographic difficulties for students living in the eastern part of
the state and unable to relocate.
Despite the cost discrepancy, Gatton College of Pharmacy Dean Dr. Debbie Byrd said
the colleges enrollment has remained steady in recent years, and the average annual
tuition growth of 3.6 percent over the past five years is below that of Tennessee
colleges and universities.
While presenting to the board on Friday, Byrd proposed asking the state to establish
a scholarship fund, available only to ETSU students, to solve the tuition disparity
between the two colleges.
This solution will ensure disproportionate cost and distance are not obstacles to
students in any part of the state as they pursue pharmacy education in Tennessee. This
investment in Tennessee students will require less than $2.5 million annually from
the state, the proposal read.
It is important to note this proposal will not increase the class size or revenue
of the ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy. Much of the colleges success lies in its small
class size and ability to place students and student success at the heart of its mission. The
sole purpose of this proposal is to ensure accessibility and affordability of pharmacy
education of all Tennesseans, no matter their zip code.
Noland said Fridays approval allows him to immediately begin speaking to state officials
to find a possible solution.
That policy conversation will now begin with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission,
with members of Gov. (Bill) Haslams staff and with members of the General Assembly,
Noland said.
Ultimately, the outcome of those conversations will be determined in the upcoming
legislative arena. I think the next step is to sit down with policymakers in Nashville
to walk them through the material that we walked the board through today, and then
build support in that policy arena for the students who attend this institution.
Noland said he hopes to begin those conversations as soon as possible.
Weve already been working with representatives in Nashville. If were going to make
our way into the budget conversations, that work has to occur now, the universitys
president said.
Haslam typically would present his budget to the General Assembly in late January
2018.
In 2004, Former ETSU President Paul Stanton and medical dean Dr. Ronald Franks announced
an unprecedented financial plan for the university to establish a pharmacy school,
which would be self-sufficient by its third year.
Challenged by then-Gov. Phil Bredesen to raise $5 million in private donations in
90 days, the local pharmacology community united to raise the total in just 58 days.
A recent preliminary economic impact analysis conservatively estimated the Gatton
College of Pharmacy contributes $34 million statewide and $29 million regionally a
year.
Story originally posted at: http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2017/09/08/ETSU-Board-of-Trustees-authorizes-president-to-seek-solution-to-pharmacy-school-tuition-disparity.html?ci=content&lp=1&p=1