KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Scholarships are up, administrative costs down and the University of Tennessee’s vital signs are strong, a report for UT’s board of trustees says.
UT President Joe Johnson said UT’s Performance Report shows the university is strong and moving ahead, despite cuts in state funding. The trustees will hear a summary of the report at their meeting here June 19.
“Tennesseans want to know what we are doing and how well we are doing it,” Johnson said. “This report, which is like an annual checkup, shows we are attracting better students, cutting costs and putting our priorities in the classroom and laboratory.”
The report says:
* Scholarship funding at UT’s Chattanooga, Knoxville and Martin campuses has gone up 113 percent since 1992.
* Administrative costs are down from 9.44 percent of UT’s budget 10 years ago to 7.93 percent in the current year.
* All academic programs at the three primary campuses are accredited by the appropriate accrediting agency.
* All campuses have had increases in average test scores for entering freshmen.
* There are no 18-year-old UT students in remedial or developmental courses.
* Despite cutbacks in federal funding, UT researchers won approximately $160 million in outside research contracts last year.
* UT’s Institute for Public Service helped Tennessee industries generate more than $100 million in savings and profits last year.
* Since 1980, UT campuses abolished 126 academic programs, while adding only 43, a net decline of 83.
Though actual scholarship amounts vary, the $4.3 million awarded this year by the three undergraduate campuses equals approximately 2,400 full-tuition grants, the report shows.
UT-Knoxville gave nearly $2.3 million in scholarships this year, up from $1.05 million five years ago.
UT’s 21st Century Campaign has generated approximately $100 million in gifts and pledges for scholarships. These funds will provide hundreds of new scholarships for Tennesseans in the future, Johnson said.
Of the 186 Tennessee students who hold McWherter Scholarships, 77 are enrolled at UT-Knoxville, five at UT-Martin and three at UT-Chattanooga. The McWherter grants, given only to the state’s best students, can be used at any institution in Tennessee.
Of the McWherter Scholars who will enter college this fall, 44 percent (24) will enter UT-Knoxville, 16 are going to Vanderbilt, 10 to State Board of Regents institutions, and five to private schools, the report shows.
At 23.9, UT-Knoxville has the highest average ACT test score of the nine public universities in Tennessee, the report says.
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Contact: Dr. Joe Johnson (423-974-2241) or Homer Fisher (423-974-3211)