UMass fee hike clears final hurdle

February 27, 2009 03:03 PM Email| Comments (12)| Text size – +

UMass%20Fee%20Hike.jpg
(Peter Pereira/The Standard Times via AP)

Students protested as the board of trustees approved the fee hike.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Trustees at the University of Massachusetts gave final approval today to a $1,500 increase in student fees amid calls to defer the hike until state officials allocate hundreds of millions in federal stimulus money earmarked for education.

The 15 percent increase, the largest in several years, brings annual tuition costs for in-state undergraduates to an average of $11,000 for the next academic year, not including room and board.

But officials said they would provide rebates for some or all of the increase if the university receives federal money, and Umass president Jack Wilson said officials are aggressively lobbying for the funds.

“We view the federal stimulus process with great anticipation and hope that we will be able to replace student dollars with federal dollars,” said Wilson, who described the increase as a “responsible, balanced step” in response to reduced financial support from the commonwealth.

University officials say the fee hike is necessary to help cover a projected $100 million budget deficit across the five-campus system. The university also plans to reduce spending by $50 million, and substantially boost financial aid.

Trustees approved the controversial measure by a 12 to 4 margin. More than 100 students attended the meeting, held at UMass Dartmouth, to register their opposition to the hike.

Critics say the increase will price out financially struggling families who are turning to the public system in strong numbers for its lower cost.

Ferd Wulkan, coordinator for the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts, an advocacy group, criticized the fee increase as “premature and excessive.” He called upon state leaders to subsidize the university more generously to make it more affordable for families.

“This should be a time to invest in public education,” he said.

Paul Reville, the state’s education secretary and a UMass trustee, supported the increase, calling it “a tough action, but the right thing to do” given the university’s budget gap.

Reville said he is confident higher education will receive some support from the federal stimulus package but said it would take likely several months to determine how much.

“It’s unclear when the aid will be available and how much it will be,” he said in an interview after the vote.

The bolstered aid, along with increases in federal grants for low-income students, would allow the university to cover the full cost of tuition and fees for most families who make less than the state median income of $78,500.

UMass students who received aid this year paid an average net cost -- for tuition, fees, and room and board -- of $13,293.

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12 comments so far...

I guess they have to pay for Billy Bulgers' retirement pention somehow....

Posted by Sean February 27, 09 03:58 PM

This is outrageous!!!! How can they possibly rationalize the idea of such a high rise in fees when just 2 weeks ago it was reported that UMass employees have the highest salaries in the state?!?!!? I work full time and go to UMass Boston part time and I can hardly afford it along with books. Dumb, arrogant, idiots!

Posted by takeapaycut February 27, 09 04:05 PM

So basically $1,500.00... where are the studenst at U-Mass Boston supposed to come up with this money. You know the school who is supposed to be for inner city students??? Yea, last time they did a huge fee increase the board said "They can just drink one less six pack of beer."

When will the board and the people who run this joke of a system take a pay cut instead

Posted by James E Stevenson February 27, 09 04:21 PM

How many people are on the board of trustees? What are their salaries?
What do they actually do? How many hours do they work in a week? Not many I bet.

Posted by Tony February 27, 09 05:11 PM

How many people are on the board of trustees? What are their salaries? What do they actually do to earn their salary? How many hours do they work in a week? Not many I bet. Can the Globe please investigate this?

Posted by Tony February 27, 09 05:19 PM

typical..taxachusetts...why dont we reduce all the admin. and professors salaries by $1500.00 a semester. instead of hitting taxpayers in the pocketbook, why dont they just incraese the amount of out of state students that pay more and actually think the school is fairly good.

Posted by aj February 27, 09 05:47 PM

Ha Ha HA

This is probably the only useful lessen you will get at that so called college

Never trust the Democrats!.

Posted by New Boss February 27, 09 06:52 PM

You forgot that UMass has those huge fees because they cannot increase tuition, so technicall the tuition at UMass is really affordable.

Wlecome to Taxachusetts, where we call redefine the meaning of the word tuition to keep it low :)

Posted by HBX February 27, 09 08:01 PM

All I've heard from college age kids for the past year is how the white collar workers need to pay their "fair share" of the taxes. When income taxes go up on the top tiers of earners, I heard that "they can afford it". When Deval raises the gas tax and the Pike raises tolls, I heard the college kids say "it's better for the environment, besides those guys can afford it". When Deval wanted to chase people into NH to collect taxes, college kids called those consumers "tax evaders" that were cheating the system. Well, after Massachusetts allowed these well intentioned liberals into the state year after year , knowing that each one of their votes will be for the entrenched Democrat party, it seems that the government has turned their back on their little community activist brigade. I say it's about time the these snot nosed punks pay their admission price just like everyone else. Think of this as a life lesson, politicians don't care about you (not even Obama), they care about getting reelected. Now quit your bellyaching, dry your eyes, and for the sake of everybody, take a shower!

Posted by kanye east February 27, 09 08:08 PM

I'm a UMass-Boston alumna. When I was there, tuition, fees, or both went up every semester. One semester, they went up 3 times. Looks like nothing has changed.

Screw the students, Bulger needs his pension.

Posted by Liz February 27, 09 09:09 PM

God forbid that the greedy UMass faculty and union workers take a wage freeze so as to spare these kids this burden.

Posted by Petey February 27, 09 11:14 PM

STUDENTS FIRST!

first to pay out of the nose that is.

Posted by Malcolm February 28, 09 10:40 AM