University of Illinois tuition hike, delayed because of COVID-19, will kick in next year, as trustees consider room and board cost increase

The University of Illinois will become more expensive for some in-state students next fall if the board of trustees agrees to raise fees for housing and campus services.

Despite concerns about the ballooning cost of college, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, university officials proposed the increases at a Wednesday meeting of the board’s academic and student affairs committee.

The full board will vote Thursday on the measure, which would boost undergraduate room and board rates by 1.4% at the Springfield campus for new students in the 2021-22 school year. The proposal also calls for student fees and assessments to rise by 0.8% at the two most populous locations.

While the proposal keeps tuition the same, new in-state undergraduates and sophomores will have to pay more for the first time since 2014.

Barbara Wilson, vice president for academic affairs for the U. of I. system, described the proposed increases in student fees and housing as “modest” and necessary to offset inflation.

This story appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Jan. 20, 2021.

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UI trustees set to look at 5-year-old freeze on in-state tuition

Tuition for in-state freshmen hasn’t changed in five years at the University of Illinois, and trustees will decide next week whether to continue that freeze. So far, administrators aren’t saying what they will propose. But they’ve noted recently that faculty hiring hasn’t kept up with enrollment gains, partly because the tuition freeze has limited income growth.

Executive Vice President Barbara Wilson declined to say whether the freeze will be extended for a sixth year. “We’re still in discussions with the board members,” she said.

Systemwide, income from undergraduate tuition has continued to grow in the five years since the freeze was imposed in fall 2015, from $750 million in 2014-15 to $830.1 million in 2018-19, after waivers were granted to veterans, children of employees and other students, according to UI data.

Separately, fees and housing rates have also continued to climb for all students. Undergraduates provide the bulk of tuition income, as most graduate students receive tuition waivers, and in-state students make up about three-quarters of all undergraduates.

The UI system plans to hire 500 new professors in over the next five years, on top of normal retirements and faculty departures.

UI officials are considering state funding levels, enrollment and financial aid resources as well as “what other institutions are doing,” she said. Trustees meet Wednesday in Chicago, where they will also consider fees and housing rates for 2020-21.

This story appeared in The News-Gazette on Jan. 10, 2020.

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U of I president proposing another in-state tuition freeze

University of Illinois Springfield tuition for incoming freshmen would stay the same next fall, under a plan to freeze rates throughout the U of I system for a fourth consecutive year.

University of Illinois President Tim Killeen said the rates, which will go before the U of I Board of Trustees later this month for approval, encourage higher enrollment at the system’s campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield.

The plan calls for frozen tuition rates for all Illinois residents. And under the state’s guaranteed tuition law, incoming students from Illinois pay the same rates for each of the four years it typically takes to complete an undergraduate degree.

First-semester enrollment at the Springfield campus decreased 8.7 percent, compared to the previous year, to 4,956, according to a count taken in September.

UIS officials noted the decrease came mostly from a loss of international graduate students. UIS Chancellor Susan Koch said the steady tuition rates, coupled with an effort to raise money for scholarships, are helping to grow enrollment.

UIS’ tuition stands at $9,405 annually for full-time students, not counting other fees. Before the last tuition raise for the 2014-2015 school year, it was at $9,248.

While tuition is holding steady, students will see some fee increases, under the plan. Annual fees at UIS would increase by $200 next year to $2,426. The hike reflects the first full year of a fee to help pay for the campus’ new student union that opens later this month.

This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on January 5, 2018.

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U. of I. plans in-state tuition freeze for 4th straight year

Hoping to stem an exodus of local students to colleges in other states, the University of Illinois plans to freeze its base tuition for incoming, in-state freshmen for a fourth consecutive year, the Tribune has learned. University President Timothy Killeen will recommend extending the tuition freeze for Illinois residents who enroll this fall, he told the Tribune in an interview Thursday.

The board of trustees is scheduled to vote on Killeen’s proposal at its meeting Jan. 18.

The fixed tuition means Illinois residents starting this fall will pay the same base rates as in-state students who enrolled every year since 2014: $12,036 a year at Urbana-Champaign, $10,584 at Chicago and $9,405 in Springfield.

The total price of attendance is significantly higher after incorporating required fees, as well as room and board. Those costs will increase for many students next year.

Students in popular programs such as engineering will continue to pay higher tuition, as well.

The move to keep a lid on base tuition for residents comes as Illinois public universities face increasing competition from public universities in neighboring states.

At the same time, state Illinoisans are leaving the state in droves, chiefly for other Midwestern public and private schools with comparable rates, generous financial aid and better overall stability in higher education, state education data show.

In 2002, 71 percent of Illinois high school graduates who attended four-year universities chose in-state schools, according to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. By 2015, the most recent year data were available, just 55 percent chose Illinois colleges.

If the board approves the proposal, it would mark the first time the university locked tuition rates for four straight years since 1974 to 1977.

Annual fees at the Springfield campus would increase $200, to $2,426, starting in the spring. The change incorporates a student-approved charge to help pay for a new student union. Tuition rates for non-resident freshman students and the price for the standard housing and meal plan would not change.

Despite dwindling state support and fewer students in the college pipeline, the three-school University of Illinois system is aiming grow enrollment 15 percent across the three schools by 2021. 

This story appeared in The Chicago Tribune on January 4, 2018.

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Illinois among most expensive states for college tuition

Illinois is one of the most expensive states to go to college in the U.S., reports the Associated Press. It has the fifth most expensive in-state college tuition in the nation, AP reports.

The cost of getting a bachelor's degree in Illinois has many worried that students will leave the state to go to college.

University of Illinois Springfield senior, Edwin Robles, said he knows several people who left Illinois to go to college because of money. "I think it's pretty sad especially because I'm from Illinois," Robles said.

"I think that tuition rates across the country are high. It hurts a lot knowing that the state of Illinois is the fifth in the nation."

UIS Spokesman, Derek Schnapp, said higher tuition in Illinois has many worried students leaving the state. "Many of the universities across the state are seeing many students looking across the border, and it's something we need to take care of," Schnapp said. "We want to have our own students here in Illinois. They contribute to the economy."

With tuition at about $9,400 per year, Schnapp says UIS is less expensive than several other universities in central Illinois.

"We actually went up with Illinois residents this past year, enrollment," he said. "Last year 67 percent of our students were from Illinois, this year we're at 72 percent."

Schnapp says he doesn't know why tuition is higher in Illinois.

The associated press reports Illinois is among four states that cut higher education funding over the last two years.

The University of Illinois in Champaign costs about $15,700 per year. The University of Illinois Chicago costs about $14,800 per year.

This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on October 2, 2017.

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U of Illinois aid amendment to be introduced in Springfield

The University of Illinois says a proposal will be introduced in the state Legislature that would provide at least $170 million in financial aid.

University of Illinois President Tim Killeen announced the Invest in Illinois, or Triple I, proposal on Wednesday. He says it would provide the money over five years with the goal of keeping Illinois high school graduates in state for college and stem a growing loss of students to out-of-state schools.

The university says the measure will be introduced as an amendment to a measure already pending in Springfield that involves university funding. The university says that in 2015, 45 percent of high school students who graduated in Illinois and were bound for college went to schools out of state.

This article appeared in The News Tribune on March 16, 2017.

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U. of I. plans tuition freeze, major enrollment growth

University of Illinois is rolling out an ambitious effort to boost enrollment by 15 percent over the next five years, growing the three campuses to more than 93,600 students.

School leaders are aiming to add around 12,150 students by 2021, pinpointing increases in undergraduate programs at the Chicago campus, and graduate and online programs in Urbana-Champaign.

The move comes as the university system tries to attract more Illinoisans and underrepresented minorities. As part of the battle to remain an attractive option for those students, university leaders also are poised to approve a tuition freeze for incoming Illinois students for the third straight year.

U. of I. President Timothy Killeen is scheduled to detail the enrollment plan at Thursday's board of trustees meeting in Chicago. Trustees also are to vote on the tuition rates.

"We have found that a lot of the reasons that qualified students leave the state is on the basis of cost," Killeen said. "We need to be competitive on cost. We need to do that to preserve our talent."

All three campuses were directed to create enrollment strategies last summer, school officials said.

Springfield would add more than 1,000 students by introducing new programs, improving marketing for its online courses and broadening its recruitment territory. Five new undergraduate programs, two new concentrations, two new graduate certificate courses and one new master's-level program would be added in Springfield. Officials also would more aggressively target downstate Illinois and the East St. Louis area for prospective students.

Should the initiatives prove successful, officials project the three schools would grant 10,000 more degrees between now and 2021. That also would be an aggressive goal. The schools awarded 21,517 degrees in 2016, about 2,100 more than in 2011.

Should trustees agree not to raise tuition for in-state freshmen, it would be the longest streak of unchanged admissions rates in four decades. Administrators are proposing the same base tuition for first-year Illinoisans that the university first established in the 2014-15 school year. Incoming students would continue to pay $12,036 at Urbana-Champaign, $10,584 at UIC and $9,405 in Springfield.

This story appeared in the Chicago Tribune on January 19, 2017.

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UIS Chancellor talks tuition freeze

For the third straight year, the University of Illinois is not increasing base tuition for incoming freshman.

University of Illinois Springfield officials said that despite hard times for universities across the state, they believe that affordability for quality education is their top priority.

They are holding off on hiring staff to fill openings, and are making due in order to best serve their students.

"Even though, on the one hand, a tuition increase would certainly benefit our budget," UIS Chancellor, Susan Koch, said. "We are going to forgo that increase again this year in the interest of access and affordability."

University of Illinois in Springfield has the lowest tuition rates of its three campuses. It's just over $9,000 for the year. Chancellor Koch said this has helped in student growth each semester.

This story appeared on Fox Illinois on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.

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UIS News: UI System proposes third-straight in-state tuition freeze

The University of Illinois ranks high in the Big Ten on a measure it would rather not: tuition and fees. For several years, it has had the third-highest tuition and fees in the conference, behind only Northwestern and Penn State. But the UI is proposing its third consecutive tuition freeze for in-state freshmen next fall.

Graduate students, freshmen from other states and international students would see a 1.8 percent tuition increase.

If approved, the tuition freeze for Illinois residents would be the longest in 40 years, according to the university.

The UI had a four-year freeze from 1974 to 1977. "I don't know how long we can keep our tuition flat for Illinois residents, given our state situation," Executive Vice President Barb Wilson told UI trustees Monday. "But we're committed for one more year."

A budget impasse reduced state funding for the UI system over the last two years by about $750 million as legislators could only agree on temporary stopgap funding measures. "We are working hard to keep education affordable," Wilson said. "The future is the question."

Trustees reviewed proposed tuition, fees and housing rates for the UI's three campuses in Chicago, Springfield and Urbana at the board's Audit, Budget, Finance and Facilities Committee. The full board will vote on the measures Jan. 19 in Chicago.

As proposed, base tuition for in-state undergraduates next fall would match rates for the 2014-15 academic year — $12,036 a year in Urbana-Champaign, $10,584 in Chicago and $9,405 in Springfield.

UI President Tim Killeen said the goal is to keep a UI education affordable and accessible to all students.

This story appeared in The News-Gazette on January 10, 2017.

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