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STORRS, Conn. (AP) — University of Connecticut students and their parents will pay more in tuition following a vote Wednesday by the Board of Trustees approving an increase of more than 30 percent over four years.
Annual tuition for in-state students will rise from the current $10,524 to $13,799 in the 2019-2020 school year. Tuition for out-of-state students will increase from $32,066 to $36,466.
The first increase will be imposed next fall, with tuition rising $700 for in-state students and $950 for out-of-state students.
"UConn is an exceptional value for Connecticut students and will continue to be," Scott Jordan, UConn's chief financial officer, told trustees as he recommended the increase.
He warned in October that tuition raises were needed to help offset rising costs, diminishing state support and a projected budget deficit.
The budget of the state's flagship university continues to fund financial aid at levels that will allow "substantial support" for need- and merit-based assistance to qualifying students, he said.
UConn says the increase will generate $12.8 million in the first year toward closing an anticipated $40 million budget gap in the next academic year. Officials say they intend to close a remaining $27.4 million hole with cuts, restrictive hiring and other measures.
State spending on UConn has increased, but funding has not kept up with increases in school spending that has risen from about $1 billion in fiscal 2011 to $1.3 billion this year. About 60 percent of the school's spending is for personnel, and state reimbursements have not kept up with mandatory increases in wages and benefits, Jordan said.
The school has hired 260 additional faculty members over the past four years and plans to increase enrollment by 5,000 students in the next decade.
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