Spring Break
BOT delays tuition increase discussion
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: News
Gov. M. Jodi Rell sent Board of Trustees members a letter on Monday urging them to delay their scheduled discussion of tuition increases - a sentiment the board agreed with.
The possibility of tuition increases will now be discussed during the Board of Trustees meeting - the last possible time to make changes, as financial aid and tuition information is sent to prospective students on March 15.
Concerns about tuition increase have been stirring since the recessed economy forced Rell to cut UConn's budget 5 percent from this year's figure - a total loss of about $32 million.
In her letter, Rell wrote that, since the budget had yet to be approved - and that the budget may receive aid from the financial stimulus package passed on Tuesday - any action taken would be premature and detrimental to students.
"I believe that with students and their parents struggling to make ends meet it would be the worst time to raise costs through tuition or fees at UConn," she wrote.
John Rowe, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said he agreed with the governor's assessment, saying that there were too many unknown variables for a decision that would not affect students for another month at least.
"There is no reason to make a decision right now," he said in an interview before the Tuesday afternoon meeting.
Richard Harris, a spokesman for Rell, said it was not inappropriate to ask the school to ignore a potential area for funds after taking funding away herself. Harris said the governor thought the school would be more than able to find room in their budget for what he described as "modest" cuts without putting the responsibility on students' shoulders.
"There is room in UConn's budget to absorb the cuts," he said.
In fact, President Hogan has already commissioned the Cost, Operations and Revenue Enhancement task force to find space for the cuts. In its preliminary report, the group recommended initiatives that could save the school from $5-$7 million; a fraction of the $32 million ultimately reduced from the current budget.
The possibility of tuition increases will now be discussed during the Board of Trustees meeting - the last possible time to make changes, as financial aid and tuition information is sent to prospective students on March 15.
Concerns about tuition increase have been stirring since the recessed economy forced Rell to cut UConn's budget 5 percent from this year's figure - a total loss of about $32 million.
In her letter, Rell wrote that, since the budget had yet to be approved - and that the budget may receive aid from the financial stimulus package passed on Tuesday - any action taken would be premature and detrimental to students.
"I believe that with students and their parents struggling to make ends meet it would be the worst time to raise costs through tuition or fees at UConn," she wrote.
John Rowe, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said he agreed with the governor's assessment, saying that there were too many unknown variables for a decision that would not affect students for another month at least.
"There is no reason to make a decision right now," he said in an interview before the Tuesday afternoon meeting.
Richard Harris, a spokesman for Rell, said it was not inappropriate to ask the school to ignore a potential area for funds after taking funding away herself. Harris said the governor thought the school would be more than able to find room in their budget for what he described as "modest" cuts without putting the responsibility on students' shoulders.
"There is room in UConn's budget to absorb the cuts," he said.
In fact, President Hogan has already commissioned the Cost, Operations and Revenue Enhancement task force to find space for the cuts. In its preliminary report, the group recommended initiatives that could save the school from $5-$7 million; a fraction of the $32 million ultimately reduced from the current budget.
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