HOUSTON – The average cost nationally per year to attend a public college is $28,000. In Texas, as students are asked to pay more in tuition, the people in charge of the biggest universities are also making more.
A recent Chronicle of Higher Education study found administrators at three Texas schools among the top five nationwide.
University of Texas Chancellor William McCraven made $1.9 million last year -- a $1.2 million base salary plus a $300,000 bonus and a $400,000 deferred payment.
Texas A&M President Michael Young received a $1 million base salary and a one-time payment of $800,000, which a university spokesperson referred to as a "deferred compensation from his previous position."
University of Houston President and Chancellor Renu Khator rounds out the list at $1.1 million -- a $700,000 base salary plus $200,000 in bonus and another $200,000 in deferred pay.
The naming of Khator in the study roused UH Board of Regents Chairman Tillman Fertitta enough to write a letter directly to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
In it, Feritta firmly stood by her salary stating, "... unequivocally that Chancellor Khator's salary is appropriate.”
"She brings so much value to the school. She's probably underpaid based on the value she brings to us," said UH Board of Regents Vice Chair Welcome Wilson.
Wilson pointed out that Khator does a dual role as both chancellor and president in one salary, whereas the University of Texas and Texas A&M pay salaries to two people each for these roles.
"When you look at the combined cost of presidents and chancellors, we're about half that cost," Wilson said. "We're actually saving more than half the money from that standpoint."
University of Texas, Texas A&M University and the University of Houston have programs that allow students to freeze or fix the cost of tuition for four years.
The following links detail information for the university systems:
University of Texas: http://tuition.utexas.edu/rates/longhorn-fixed-tuition
Texas A & M University: http://admissions.tamu.edu/transfer/cost
University of Houston: http://www.uh.edu/provost/UHin4/transfer-student-fixed-four-year-tuition-option/