Latest news with #tuitionincrease
New York Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Tuition Hikes and Layoffs Are Coming to a Broad Set of Universities
Public universities in the Midwest are raising prices for out-of-state students, as Florida schools consider making the same move for the first time since 2012. Cornell and Duke are among the colleges weighing layoffs. The University of Minnesota is cutting hundreds of jobs, even as undergraduate tuition soars as much as 7.5 percent. Just as America's colleges are preparing to welcome what could be the largest freshman class in the nation's history, political and economic forces are unleashing havoc on higher education budgets. Schools are grappling with meager upticks in state support and topsy-turvy economic forecasts, and Republicans in Washington are pursuing federal budget cuts and threatening tax hikes. Students and employees from coast to coast are poised to feel the squeeze. Although the exact consequences will vary by school, administrators are warning that many students may have to pay more, professors may lose their jobs, programs could vanish and support services could shrink. The turmoil is not limited to any one type of university or college, or any one state. A day before Michigan State University trustees opted for tuition increases, a California State University campus minutes from the Pacific Ocean announced that it was trimming its work force. 'If you're a student or family looking to go to college this year, all of the numbers are going in the wrong direction,' said Ted Mitchell, the president of the American Council on Education, who described the mood among higher education leaders as 'dark but resolved.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Out-of-state university students could face tuition hikes in Florida
Out-of-state students attending Florida universities could see a 10 percent increase in tuition this fall and an additional hike the following school year, under a rule unanimously adopted by the state university system's Board of Governors on Wednesday. Tuition hikes for out-of-state students would have to be approved by university boards of trustees and schools would have to maintain their current ratio of in-state students to out-of-state students. If increases are approved for the 2025-2026 school year, they would be the first tuition hikes in more than a decade for out-of-state students, according to documents distributed before Wednesday's Board of Governors vote. None of the state's 12 universities has raised tuition since 2012, and Florida State University hasn't had an increase since 2004, the documents said. Florida has the nation's third-lowest tuition and fees for out-of-state students, at an average of $21,690 in 2023-2024. That was about 28 percent lower than the national average of $30,140. Nearly 33,000 undergraduate students from outside the state — about 12 percent of all students — attend Florida's public universities. Roughly 25,000 of the state's 76,000 graduate students, or 33 percent, are nonresidents. Balancing financial impacts and educational access Board of Governors member Alan Levine, who proposed the increase, noted that "our total cost of a degree is one of the lowest in the country for students." Levine said in a text message to The News Service of Florida that the proposal would allow increases of up to 10 percent this fall and up to 15 percent in fall 2026. He said his "strong suspicion is it will end up being less than 10% this year as trustees try to minimize impact on current students." A hike over two years would give out-of-state students more leeway to plan their finances, Levine suggested during the meeting. Florida law caps annual tuition increases for in-state and out-of-state students at 15 percent. "We want to make sure we don't create sticker shock for students that are here currently," Levine said. Maintaining ratios of in-state and out-of-state students would ensure that Floridians don't lose slots in schools to higher-paying applicants. "We do not want to see universities raising their nonresident enrollment rates to increase revenues, particularly at the expense of in-state students," Levine said. Tuition increases approved by university boards of trustees would have to be shared with university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues. An across-the-board 5 percent tuition increase for out-of-state undergraduate students at all of the state's universities would generate nearly $24.2 million annually, according to the document presented to the board. A 15 percent hike would bring an extra $72.5 million to the state. Tuition for out-of-state students varies throughout universities. For undergraduates, the University of South Florida offers the lowest per-credit hour rate for nonresidents, at $346.50. The University of Florida weighs in as the highest, at $707.21. The average statewide is $491.90. Debating compliance and institutional priorities Board of Governors member Eric Silagy tried to link the proposed increases to part of Florida law that says tuition for out-of-state students should offset the cost of providing education to such students. Silagy said three schools in the system — New College of Florida, Florida A&M University, and Florida Polytechnic University — don't meet the requirement. "I don't think we should be allowing the board of trustees to go up to the maximum 15% because these three schools have an obligation, not a choice, an obligation, to be in compliance with state law," Silagy said. Silagy, who has harshly criticized New College in the past, argued that schools where Florida taxpayers are "subsidizing" out-of-state students shouldn't be allowed to increase the number of nonresident students. According to Silagy, the state is spending more than $82,000 per student for New College, which has 802 students, including 90 who aren't Florida residents. As a comparison, the state spends roughly $19,000 per student at the University of Florida. Silagy's remarks drew fire from New College President Richard Corcoran, a former state House speaker who was recruited by Gov. Ron DeSantis to remake the Sarasota liberal-arts school into a conservative higher-education institution. Corcoran called Silagy's comparisons of New College to other Florida universities "odious." "When we, the new board, came onto the scene, here's the rhetoric that we were told: 'Be the Hillsdale of the South. Grow your prestige to what you were in the past,'" Corcoran said, referring to the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. New College is "just not like the rest" of Florida's public universities, Corcoran argued. "I mean, we took over an absolute failed institution, had it been not publicly funded, would have closed a decade ago, without question," he said. "The question is, do you want to build, for the Legislature and the governor, a world-class liberal-arts institution? If the answer is yes … we can't be graded or evaluated in that same context."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tennessee State raises tuition 6% amid budget stabilization effort
This story was originally published on Higher Ed Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Higher Ed Dive newsletter. Tennessee State University is set to raise its tuition and fees by 6% as the struggling institution tries to pull itself out of financial distress. The university's board of trustees voted to approve the increase last week. The plan would reduce the historically Black institution's projected fiscal 2026 deficit by some $7 million, to $38.9 million, Acting Chief Financial Officer Jim Grady told trustees at the Thursday board meeting. Since February, university leaders have identified up to $26 million in cost reductions through measures such as hiring freezes and capping scholarship awards. But officials acknowledged last week that more work still needed to be done to close the budget gap. Tennessee State is operating with little margin for error after years of management issues. Today the university would likely not be operating at all without the release of significant state funds to keep it afloat. One of the university's near-fatal mistakes in past years was promising full rides to most students using emergency federal pandemic funds without a funding plan for continuing the scholarships through their academic careers. The broken promises to students led to a massive enrollment dip. First-year student enrollment sat at around 3,500 in fiscal 2022, but fell by roughly half the next year, officials told state lawmakers last year. By 2024, Tennessee State had only 880 students. Moreover, a recently released audit found that in fiscal 2023 — and in the several years prior — Tennessee State administration failed to enact proper financial controls and processes. That resulted in both over- and undercharging students and misstating cash balances in financial statements. Since then, the university has been trying to right its budget and secure funding from the state for a turnaround. This past spring, Interim President Dwayne Tucker laid out a five-year plan to modernize Tennessee State's facilities while providing for its cash needs. The proposal would use over half a billion dollars of state money — the amount by which Tennessee underfunded the HBCU over the course of several decades, according to a 2021 report. As for its upcoming annual budget, Grady laid out spending reductions last week that are expected to save as much as $6 million by capping unrestricted financial aid awards to students and up to $10 million in reduced personnel costs by leaving vacancies unfilled. That comes after laying off around 100 employees last year. University leaders also found up to $10 million in proposed cuts to unspecified nonpersonnel costs. Tennessee State faces other potential financial headaches outside its control, such as the impact on enrollment from federal Republican proposals to cut Pell Grant awards and eligibility as well as other potential policy changes. Since President Donald Trump retook office this year, the university has also seen disruption to tens of millions of dollars in federal grants, with some funds being suspended, reinstated and then suspended again. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
University regents approve fiscal 2026 budget that cuts spending, raises tuition and fees
The "M Circle" on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. (Photo by Sam Gauntt/Maryland Matters) The University System of Maryland's Board of Regents voted Friday to approve a fiscal 2026 budget that is 7% smaller than last year's allocation, as well as tuition increases of up to 5% and fee hikes up to 10%. The almost $8 billion budget, already approved by Gov. Wes Moore and the General Assembly, will trim operating costs while aiming to increase revenue to make up for $155 million in reduced funding. These reductions follow an almost 4% cut to the University System last year. 'At this extraordinary time, our universities must make some difficult decisions as they close their budget gaps,' University System Chancellor Jay Perman said Friday. On Thursday, Perman took the unusual step of sending a video message to more than 40,000 faculty and staff members across the system, apologizing for the coming budget cuts but telling staff to brace for them. He replayed that video for the board on Friday. While university administrators will first seek to generate new revenue and will protect employees from cuts as much as possible, the 'sheer size of the cut we're absorbing means that, for some universities, personnel actions cannot be taken off the table,' Perman said in the video. At their previous meeting in May, the regents approved a resolution that allows presidents of individual campuses to implement furloughs and temporary salary reductions as part of their budget plans. Universities told they should brace for the coming year's 7% budget cut Senior Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Ellen Herbst said 60% of the system's operating costs are personnel-related. Two-thirds of the system's employees are funded by state support, Herbst said, while about a quarter are funded by federal grants and contracts. She said though universities are looking to low-impact actions to address personnel costs first, such as eliminating vacancies and allowing 'natural attrition' to reduce payrolls, those actions alone may not be enough. 'We will take these actions with great care, but we will need to take some further actions,' Herbst said. 'We cannot address the shortfall in state funding without addressing personnel costs.' Patrick Moran, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland Council 3, which represents more than 6,000 University System employees, said the union and system need to work together to defend their shared values and protect employees as they face 'very real and critical threats.' Moran said the system must evaluate its use of costly vendors, reduce reliance on contractual employees, and listen to feedback from staff on how things can be better run. 'All of these things can be done before deciding to make devastating cuts to your personnel, especially those on the front lines,' he said. Katherine Wasdin, a representative of the University of Maryland, College Park's American Association of University Professors chapter, expressed the importance of shared governance as the system makes its budget decisions. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE 'Faculty and university senates must be involved in making these difficult budgetary decisions, as well as in how to respond to changing federal policies on education and research,' Wasdin, an associate professor of classics, said. 'It is thus imperative that all parts of the USM system promote the involvement of faculty in university management, rather than trying to thwart it.' Under the budget plan, the University System will receive 29% of its funding from state appropriations, while 27% will come from tuition and fees. The next largest contribution comes from restricted funds, which consist mostly of federal contracts and grants, and will cover about 24% of the budget. In addition to the reduction in state funding, the system estimates that the federal government's significant cuts to research grants and contracts could cost up to $150 million across its campuses, Herbst said. To increase revenue to offset the losses in funding, tuition will increase across the system by 2-4% for in-state residents. The University of Maryland, College Park will see the highest increase at 4%, while the rest will see increases of 3% or less. Tuition for nonresident undergrads will increase by 5% at Towson and UMBC, and 2% at the system's other institutions. Regents committee calls for OK of $69 million for time to pull back spun-off businesses Student fees, such as housing, dining and parking, will see bigger increases. Housing will see increases from 2% at Towson to 10% at Bowie State University, while board fee increases range from 2.2% at Salisbury University to 10.5% at College Park. Bowie State University and the College Park campus will also raise parking fees by 3.8% and 5%, respectively. The regents also voted Friday to approve extending the University of Maryland Global Campus's contract with UMGC Ventures, the university's former in-house information technology services unit which it turned into an independent business. The online university will spend $69 million on the 18-month contract extension while it works to reintegrate Ventures and AccelerEd, a subsidiary of Ventures, back into the university. The reintegration comes after an August 2024 audit from the state's Office of Legislative Audits that found the spin-offs were too costly and appeared to bypass the school's normal procedures. Herbst said that staff across the University System are continuously drawing up contingency plans for budget scenarios they could face later in the year, such as lower-than-expected enrollment, further federal funding cuts or change to eligibility for federal financial aid. Pell Grants, the system's largest source of financial aid, covered more than $204 million in aid for about 45,000 students in fiscal 2024. More than 58,000 students in total received some form of federal student aid, Herbst added, and any significant eligibility changes could potentially impact enrollment numbers. 'All we know for sure about budgets is they're simply a plan, and then the year starts and we have to actually manage,' she said. 'This year will probably prove to be more challenging than many.'
BBC News
13-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Isolation fear as fees 'price out' elderly Warwickshire students
A group of elderly students say they face becoming socially isolated after the cost of their college course more than doubled, leaving them "priced out", with friendships "torn apart".The students of upholstery, who are mostly aged between 70 and 80, attend weekly classes run by the Warwickshire College Group (WCG) at Leamington Spa course previously cost about £250 per term, however from September the fees will jump to £561. A spokesperson for WCG said the previous fee at £7.57 an hour did not "adequately cover the costs of delivering the course" and the increase was essential in order to keep the course "financially viable". The group added that without the increase, the course would need to be Jennifer Handscombe, 79, who has attended classes for more than seven years, described attendees as a "community". "There a lot of people who are dreadfully upset, there has been tears and people are genuinely worried," she said."It is something that has been part of their lives for so long, it is something that they do every week with a group of people that they know and love." Underlining her point the college had been an important source of interaction for people, she added: "We've learnt valuable skills, had our brains stimulated and our bodies kept active - but now we are being priced out of this activity."She said that relationships formed between staff and students would be "torn apart". A WCG spokesperson said leisure courses, which made up about 2% of the college's curriculum income, were "fully self-funded by participants" and were not supported by the Government or loans. They added that a minimum price of £17 had been set per teaching hour for the courses, which ensured other areas of the college did not need to subsidise the fees. Ms Handscombe acknowledged that cheaper classes were offered by the local authority, but said it was the quality of the college's teaching that drew the students."You're working with a group of people who you have developed a connection with and the tutors who run the courses are brilliant and do an amazing job," she said. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
