WORCESTER – The University of Massachusetts board of trustees voted to approve a 3 percent tuition increase for the 2017-18 academic year on Monday.
According to the board, across the four UMass undergraduate campuses – Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell – tuition will average $14,253 for in-state undergraduate students during the 2017-18 academic year, which constitutes a 3 percent rise over 2016-17.
The board estimates that this is an average $416 increase for in-state students.
“I’m very proud of the work we’ve done to minimize impact on students and their families,” said UMass president Marty Meehan. “This plan puts UMass at the low end of the scale of tuition increases among our private and public peers in the region, underscoring the fact that UMass remains an exceptional value for a world-class public research university.”
The increase in tuition is expected to generate $32.5 million in additional revenue, 30 percent of which will be directed toward financial aid.
UMass had submitted a request for $538.6 million in state funding for fiscal 2018, but the appropriation in the state fiscal 2018 budget for UMass is $513.5 million, a 1 percent increase from fiscal 2017.
The university’s budget projects a 3.3 percent increase of expenses for fiscal 2018, about $105.6 million, bringing the university’s total budget to $3.3 billion.
“The decision to increase tuition is never made lightly,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Rob Manning. “This is a modest and reasonable increase that will require the campuses to continue to cut costs, but ensures that we maintain excellence, access and affordability.”
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
