Next year, University of Connecticut students will pay more to attend the state’s flagship school, but not as much as they had expected.
The University of Connecticut board of trustees approved a 6 percent tuition increase Tuesday, which is lower than the 8.67 percent increase supported by both the students and UConn’s President Michael J. Hogan.
“I can live with the decision,” Hogan said following the meeting. “We’ll manage through it.”
The six percent tuition increase means in-state students will pay $432 more per year and out-of-state students will pay $1,320 more per year without the 6.45 percent fee hike for certain student activities.
Along with the 6 percent tuition hike, the trustees implemented an increase on General University fees. These fees will go from 5.08 percent to 6.45 percent resulting in another $96 added on to a student’s overall bill. Also for the 2010 fiscal year, students will see a boost of $20 on infrastructure and maintenance, an estimated increase from $5,090 to $5,396 on room and board, and an estimated increase from $4,414 to $4,724 on meal plans.
Hogan said the increase to room and board and meal plan fees has been one of the smallest increases over the past couple of years.
Hogan said the university can make due with the tuition increase without seriously damaging the school’s academic core. However, some of the budget cuts may affect the number of hours that museums, recreational centers, and libraries are open on campus.
With the decision made on tuition the board still has to decide what programs will be cut to fill the $11.4 million budget deficit.
Approximately 150 to 170 jobs will also be cut. Decisions on which faculty members will be laid off will be decided during the June board meeting.
Board of Trustees Chair Jack Rowe said the decision to execute the 6 percent increase came about after learning about the gains the university would receive from Federal Economic Stimulus Package. UConn will receive $2 million more in Pell grants for needy students, another $200,000 more in work study programs and a $2,500 tuition tax credit will be available to the average UConn student’s family that files a federal financial form, Hogan said.
He believes more than half of the students will be eligible for the tax credit.
For the university to cover its budget shortfall directly through a tuition increase, Hogan has said UConn would have to raise tuition 13.5 percent. He has said that was not an option he favored.