UMass students object to tuition hike
Increase would only apply to out-of-staters, though dorm costs also rise.
UMass’ plan to raise tuition for non-Massachusetts students — and also bump up room and board fees — is getting pushback from UMass Amherst students, who are calling on the Board of Trustees to reject the “unnecessary and unaffordable increases.”
The university system is recommending that the UMass Board of Trustees freeze tuition and mandatory fees for in-state students for the second straight year.
However, UMass Amherst’s Debt-Free Future Campaign is calling on the Board of Trustees to nix a 1.5% tuition increase for out-of-state students, as well as a 2% room and board increase.
“With students being forced to drop out of school and being pushed into situations of housing and food insecurity every year due to tuition and fee raises, raising them in the middle of a pandemic further endangers students and hinders them from receiving their education,” the campaign said in a statement. “We demand that the Board of Trustees votes ‘no’ on these unnecessary and unaffordable increases and commits to not raising tuition and fees.”
The Board of Trustees is set to vote on the 2021-22 tuition and fees on Wednesday.
Under the proposal, non-Massachusetts residents’ tuition would go up by $537 and room and board plans would go up by $266.
“With the average UMass Amherst student graduating with $32,000 of debt and 25% of the student population facing food insecurity, we cannot allow tuition and fees to rise again,” the campaign said.
Tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students would be frozen at $16,439 under the proposal, while it would increase to $36,964 for outof-state students. Room and board fees would rise to $13,595 under the proposal.
Meanwhile, UMass has increased institution-financed aid to a record high $352 million, a 49% increase since 2015, according to a university system spokesman.
“The tuition rates being voted on do not reflect the financial aid that students receive,” the spokesman added. “The ‘net cost’ of a UMass education for Massachusetts residents is lower and in line with the other New England public universities and far below that of private institutions.
“The 1.5% increase in out-of-state student tuition amounts to less than inflation,” he added.
The freeze and aid increases are made possible by projected emergency aid from the federal government, stable state funding and administrative reforms that saved the university $26.9 million over the past year.
“Regarding housing and dining, these are auxiliary functions, and thus not subsidized by the state appropriation,” the spokesman said. “Therefore, these must be self-supporting and the rates reflect inflation and other expense increases, including those related to COVID health and safety.”