The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees’ administration and finance committee voted June 2 to maintain a 2009 tuition and fee hike that could result in students having to pay $1,100 more to attend schools in Massachusetts’ public university system in the 2010 school year.
While the fee increases, totaled $1,500 per student, were already in place last year, Massachusetts allocated federal stimulus money to its university system in order to provide a $1,100 rebate to students. In an interview with The Boston Globe, UMass spokesman Robert Connolly said students will not likely be receiving that rebate this year and will have to pay the full tuition hike. The revelation comes even after Gov. Deval Patrick allocated $49.3 million in his proposed 2011 budget for the UMass system.
“It is not always easy to strike this balance, but every year, this is what we seek to do, as quality and affordability must exist in equal measures,” said Jack Wilson, the president of UMass, in a June 2 press release.
Because it is a public school system, UMass plans its budget on an expected, but not guaranteed, amount of funds it will receive from the state government. If those funds are less than expected, the school system may institute an “emergency” fee increase and budgetary cuts, according to the press release.
The average tuition and fees for all UMass schools will remain the same at $11,048, according to a press release from the school system. Of the UMass schools, Amherst students will pay $11,732; Boston will pay $10,611; Dartmouth will pay $10,358; and Lowell will pay $10,506.
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