The board that oversees tuition hikes at Utah colleges regularly approves them with little or no scrutiny — never rejecting a proposed increase, rarely asking questions about requests and failing to significantly analyze how the additional money will be spent, according to a scathing state audit released Monday.
That “superficial review,” the new report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General says, has meant that students at the state’s eight public universities have collectively footed $131.7 million in tuition increases over the last five years.
“We’re calling for analysis to show where that need is,” said Kade Minchey, audit manager.