A bill that would have frozen tuition rates at Tennessee's public colleges and universities appears to be dead after failing to make it through a House subcommittee.
Under the bill, students would pay the same tuition for all four years in college and any major tuition hike would have to gain unanimous approval by the school's government board.
Members of the House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee voted down the bill on Wednesday.
According to the nonprofit College Board, the 54 percent increase over five years at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville was the highest rate among flagship public universities in the country.
UT officials had fought the bill, saying that steep tuition hikes were the result of dramatic decreases in the amount of state funding to universities.
