UMass trustees vote to hike tuition by 5.8 percent

BOSTON (AP) — The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees has voted to hike tuition at the five-campus system by 5.8 percent for the 2016-2017 academic year.

The hike will result in an average tuition increase of about $756 this year for in-state undergraduate students.

At UMass Dartmouth, the increase for 2016-17 school year will be $600. The two-semester cost of tuition will go from $12,183 to $12,783.

Trustees also approved room and board rates for the upcoming academic year.

At UMass Dartmouth, the total increase for tuition plus room and board will now be $1,274. The combined cost will go from $24,210 to $25,484. 

UMass president Marty Meehan said the goal of the tuition increase is to preserve what he called the quality of education at the UMass system that the citizens of Massachusetts need and expect. “We will do everything we can to protect students and families with need via financial aid,” he said.

The $756 increase constitutes a 5.8 percent rise, which declines to 3.2 percent when the effects of financial aid are factored in.

The new tuition rates were approved Thursday on an 11-2 vote.

Tuition, across the system, will now average $13,862 for in-state undergraduate students.

Meehan said the university is facing a $3.5 million reduction in its state appropriation for the current fiscal year at a time when he said the system is experiencing significant expense pressures. These include obligations relating to the third year of contracts for unionized employees, debt service for capital projects, and fringe benefits for employees, which combined will cost an additional $107 million this year, according to a university press release.

The tuition increase approved by the Board of Trustees is part of a two-pronged approach to closing an $85 million shortfall and bringing the University’s budget into balance in 2016-2017.