Trustees vote, UConn tuition to go up

Hartford (WTNH) - The vote was nearly unanimous when trustees met today and tuition at UConn will go up. A necessary step, supporters say, to keep the quality of education at the university.

"It's a great middle ground option which will allow enough services, jobs and classes to not be curtailed," said Meredith Zaritheny, with the UConn student government.

The bill will not go up as much as expected. Instead of 8 percent, tuition will rise by just 6 percent. A concession to cash-strapped Connecticut parents and students.

Barbara Boutot - UConn Sophomore
"I am expected to pay one year of my tuition," said Barbara Boutot, a UConn sophomore. "We haven't really sorted out the details with my parents, but they do remind that I have to have some skin in the game."

Boutot is trying not to take out too many student loans. She supports herself mainly with a job on campus. But along with the tuition hike, there will be deep cuts on the campus. The library and museums will either close or limit hours, with as many as 170 jobs lost.

"That's my income while I'm at school and that concerns me," said Boutot, "because those are the jobs that are gonna get cut first, apparently is [the student jobs] and that's how we pay our tuition in some cases. So it's kind of like a double whammy."

There is a silver lining; The federal stimulus package made more families eligible for tax credits. UConn tells News Channel 8 the average family will now get that credit. So even with a 6 percent tuition increase, the cost will come out to $2,000 less than they paid this year.

"It always has been a best buy," said UConn President Michael Hogan. "I think it's likely to be a double best buy right now."

In comparison, Rhode Island has raised tuition by 10 percent, Massachusetts by 15 percent. Hogan said he is a little concerned about only raising it 6 percent. He is afraid it will mean even worse cuts next year.