UMass panel approves 7.5 percent fee hike
A committee of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees approved a 7.5 percent increase in student fees today after a two-hour debate. The Committee on Administration and Finance approved the hike on a 7-4 vote. “I”m not happy about it. … But I think it”s the prudent thing to do,” said Trustee James Karam. But Trustee Lawrence Boyle called the hike “grossly excessive.”
“When you raise the cost, you”re reducing access to this university,” he said. He said the increase was “really a giant tax increase … People are tapped out in this state.” The full board is expected to vote on the fee hikes on June 8. Trustee Victor Woolridge, chairman of the panel, said in the statement that with an anticipated reduction in state funding in the next fiscal year, the university was “left with little choice” other than to increase tuition and fees and make budget cuts. The increase is expected to raise $51 million in gross revenue. It will cost students about $20 a week, officials said.
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