Spring Break
USG to hold open meeting about tuition
Emily Abbate
Issue date: 2/24/09 Section: News
USG will hold a town-hall style meeting tonight at 7:00 in the Dodd Center to solicit student feedback about a possible tuition increase.
On hand to listen to students' opinions will be University President Michael Hogan, UConn Chief Operating Officer Barry Feldman and Vice President of Student Affairs John Saddlemire, among others.
In order to encourage attendance, USG Vice President Rob Puff said in an e-mail that USG will be providing free chicken wings and refreshments to all students, as well as free T-shirts to the first 50 students to show up.
USG President Meredith Zaritheny said she's hoping incentives like this will encourage students to show up and voice their opinions about the tuition increase for the 2009-2010 academic year.
"I know a lot of people are very concerned about a tuition increase and also with the budget cuts and how they will affect students," she said.
There are four options on the table when it comes to tuition increases for next year, ranging from no increase, with substantial layoffs and cuts to services, to a 13.67 percent tuition increase while maintaining all staff and services at their current levels.
Zaritheny said Hogan is backing option C, an 8.67 percent tuition increase coupled with 80-100 layoffs. With an 8.67 percent tuition increase, tuition for in-state students would jump to $7,824 and out-of-state tuition would jump to $23,812.
While the price hike may have students wary, "it would save a lot of student services," she said.
But Zaritheny said she's reserved judgment on which plan to support herself.
"I'm supporting whichever plan the students support" she said.
She can gauge student support for each plan via a survey sent to students last week. The results of the survey come out Wednesday.
Zaritheny declined to say exactly how many students had participated in the survey, which presented the four tuition increase plans in full and asked students which plan they support, but said it was a lot of students, a majority of the student body.
But this doesn't mean that the Konover Auditorium will be filled to capacity tonight, necessarily.
"There seems to be a misstep in when people do something on online versus whether they show up to stuff," Zaritheny said. "But I hope they do show up."
On hand to listen to students' opinions will be University President Michael Hogan, UConn Chief Operating Officer Barry Feldman and Vice President of Student Affairs John Saddlemire, among others.
In order to encourage attendance, USG Vice President Rob Puff said in an e-mail that USG will be providing free chicken wings and refreshments to all students, as well as free T-shirts to the first 50 students to show up.
USG President Meredith Zaritheny said she's hoping incentives like this will encourage students to show up and voice their opinions about the tuition increase for the 2009-2010 academic year.
"I know a lot of people are very concerned about a tuition increase and also with the budget cuts and how they will affect students," she said.
There are four options on the table when it comes to tuition increases for next year, ranging from no increase, with substantial layoffs and cuts to services, to a 13.67 percent tuition increase while maintaining all staff and services at their current levels.
Zaritheny said Hogan is backing option C, an 8.67 percent tuition increase coupled with 80-100 layoffs. With an 8.67 percent tuition increase, tuition for in-state students would jump to $7,824 and out-of-state tuition would jump to $23,812.
While the price hike may have students wary, "it would save a lot of student services," she said.
But Zaritheny said she's reserved judgment on which plan to support herself.
"I'm supporting whichever plan the students support" she said.
She can gauge student support for each plan via a survey sent to students last week. The results of the survey come out Wednesday.
Zaritheny declined to say exactly how many students had participated in the survey, which presented the four tuition increase plans in full and asked students which plan they support, but said it was a lot of students, a majority of the student body.
But this doesn't mean that the Konover Auditorium will be filled to capacity tonight, necessarily.
"There seems to be a misstep in when people do something on online versus whether they show up to stuff," Zaritheny said. "But I hope they do show up."
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