The University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a five-year tuition plan that will increase the cost of going to school there, once again, this coming school year.
University leaders cited “protecting the academic quality” of the school as one of the main reasons for the increase.
In Fall 2020, in-state students will pay about $31,000 for tuition, fees and room & board. Out of state students will pay nearly $54,000.
“Our proposal, our plan is to go up $600 next year for in-state tuition versus $950 last year. We’re taking a third off of that,” said UConn’s Executive President for Administration and CFO Scott Jordan.
Jordan said tuition will go up in line with inflation over the next five years.
Jordan and UConn President Thomas C. Katsouleas told NBC Connecticut Wednesday the main reason for the increase is to protect the academic quality of the university, while making up for declining financial support from the state and other sources.
“The purpose of this increase is to protect the quality to make sure the students get the courses they need, the great professors that we have here,” Jordan explained.
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“I knew I would have to pay for college, but I didn’t know it would be increasing every year so that’s something that was such a big surprise for me,” said Jonathan Sosa, a junior majoring in physiology and neurobiology.
As an in-state student, Sosa’s tuition increased by over $900 for this school year. Already worried about paying off student loans, Sosa is now concerned about what his financial future holds after graduation.
“I’m working a lot to pay for school, it’s just like it gets really hard when you don’t know what you’re going to do after,” Sosa explained, “And I know I’m not the only one who feels like this.”
“I get some financial aid from the school and from the state, but I also take out student loans because it doesn’t cover everything,” Junior Janissa Vidao said. Tuition has risen every year since she started studying at UConn. She said she was not expecting this when financially planning for school.
“I’m just thinking ‘how am I going to pay that back like, later on in life?’” said Vidao.
Patricia Jimenez is also a junior. She isn’t paying for her education on her own, but says her mother and father, both factory workers, are feeling the pressure of the rising cost of college. They are now taking on extra hours of work to make up for the increase in tuition.
“My parents like have to work double the amount now to keep up with the bills of the school,” Jimenez explained.
