Students will pay more tuition in 2010-11

Students at the University of Cincinnati will pay more for tuition and fees beginning Fall 2010.

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to increase tuition a total of 7.1 percent at its Tuesday, March 16, meeting.

For undergraduate students, tuition will increase $222 per quarter, or $666 for the entire year. The total cost of tuition and fees for residential undergraduate students will increase to $10,065. For non-residential undergraduate students, tuition and fees will increase to $24,568 per year.

For students in the graduate and professional programs, tuition will increase $171 per quarter, or $513 per year. The total cost of tuition for residential tuition students will increase to $13,236 per year. Non-residential tuition and fees will increase to $23,985.

“As a student representative, I cannot speak in favor of a tuition increase,” said Tim Lolli, student body president. “But looking at the positives, that student workers will hopefully continue to grow, support for students will continue to grow, student life … will be exempt from cuts and general fees will be increased … So while I cannot speak in favor of a tuition increase, I can speak in understanding.”

The tuition increase will help offset a $38 million deficit, said Bob Ambach, the interim vice president for administration and finance. The increase in tuition will generate approximately $15 million; even with the increase in tuition, the university still plans to cut $23 million.

“No one likes to deal with increasing tuition,” said Thomas Humes, a university trustee. “Unfortunately, the circumstances give us no choice but increasing tuition. The greatest issue, though, is, as we look forward, the dangers we face and threatened support from the state because of economic challenges in the state legislature.”

Federal funding for Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012 is an unknown, causing university administrators to move with financial caution.

“Fiscal Year 2012 keeps me up more nights than 2011,” Ambach said. “Federal stimulus funding from the state of Ohio in higher education is $39 million. If that dries up, according to all of our sources probably will, that will translate into a $28 [million] to $30 million reduction in support to UC in 2012.”

Students who started at the university in 2006-07 and are scheduled to graduate after Spring quarter, will not have seen a tuition during their tenure. Tuition at UC has not increased in the past four years.

At a Sept. 29, 2009, Board of Trustees meeting, the university presented the Board with a 3.5 percent tuition increase. Trustees approved the increase but voted to put a waiver on the increase so it would not show on student bills, Ambach said. The approval and waiver allowed the Board to approve the 7 percent increase for 2010-11.

The Board of Trustees approved a zero percent increase in room and board rates for on-campus housing. The projected average increase in housing fees at other universities in Ohio is 3.9 percent, Ambach said. Stratford Heights, which is in its first year of university ownership, will increase its rates 3 percent beginning Fall 2010. Trustees also voted to not increase parking rates; it will be the fourth-consecutive year parking rates have not increased.