The Tuition and Fees Conference Committee in its inaugural meeting Tuesday afternoon reviewed the tuition and fee increase recommendations and formed a recommendation to go before Chancellor Oblinger.

In a memorandum to the committee, Oblinger urged the group to cap the tuition increase at 3 percent for undergraduate residents.

“I realize that this approach potentially creates unanticipated funding shortfalls …” he said. “However, I believe this commitment to lower tuition increases will have short and long-term benefits for our students and their families.”

The Tuition Advisory Committee had originally proposed a 6.5% increase, but Provost Larry Nielsen, a co-chair for the committee, said he was not aware of the chancellor’s wishes at the time of the recommendation.

“We were operating with no additional guidance at that time,” he said.

Nielsen asked the committee to reevalute the tuition increase given the new information, noting a 3 percent increase to the current resident undergraduate tuition would be $111.20.

Charlie Leffler, vice chancellor for finance and business, motioned to recommend a $100 in-state and $200 out-of-state undergraduate tuition increase.

Upon assessing the cuts to the different budget lines of the increase, the committee found a deficit in quality and accessibility of almost $1 million.

“That’s a big hit,” Tom Stafford, vice chancellor of student affairs, said.

Nielsen explained the purpose of quality and accessibility.

“We would use it for those things that are really designed to improve the quality for the students here,” he said.

The provost suggested the increase would likely be used as salaries for five new professional advisers.

Student Body President Bobby Mills motioned to take $25,000 from quality and accessibility and put it toward Pack Promise.

“I’m willing to sacrifice my Q&A,” Mills, junior in political science and economics, said. “My advisers have sucked so far anyway.”

Mills’ motioned failed, but the original package with $100 in-state and $200 nonresident undergrad increases passed with the three student members voting in the negative.

The Fee Review Committee presented its fee proposal, which fell short of the 6.5 percent cap by two cents.

Stafford, co-chair of the Fee Review Committee, shared the group’s recommendations.

“We don’t deal with millions of dollars; we deal with pennies,” he said.

The Tuition and Fee Conference Committee passed the unrevised fee recommendation with one dissenting vote from Student Senate President Greg Doucette.

The motion to continue current fees passed unanimously.