AMHERST — University of Massachusetts trustees voted Monday to increase tuition for in-state undergraduate students for the third year in a row.
The 3 percent increase for academic year 2017-18, which on average amounts to $416, comes after lawmakers allocated $513.5 million to the UMass system in the 2018 state budget. That’s a $5.2 million increase over the previous year, but less than the $538.6 million budget request that UMass had submitted. University officials say the amount allocated isn’t enough to keep up with costs and inflation.
“The decision to increase tuition is never made lightly,” trustees Chairman Rob Manning said in a statement. “This is a modest and reasonable increase that will require the campuses to continue to cut costs, but ensures that we maintain excellence, access and affordability.”
In-state tuition will now average $14,253 across the four UMass undergraduate campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell.
For in-state undergrads attending UMass Amherst, annual student costs will now total $15,411, according to the university’s website. Out-of-state tuition at UMass Amherst will be $33,477 for the academic year.
Last year, the board of trustees voted to increase tuition and fees by an average of 5.8 percent after a 5 percent increase for the 2015-16 academic year.
UMass President Marty Meehan had predicted the increase before Monday’s meeting. After the meeting, he said in a statement that the recommended tuition rates were meant to ensure affordability while maintaining educational excellence.
“I’m very proud of the work we’ve done to minimize impact on students and their families,” Meehan said in the statement. “This plan puts UMass at the low end of the scale of tuition increases among our private and public peers in the region, underscoring the fact that UMass remains an exceptional value for a world-class public research university.”
The latest tuition increase is expected to generate $32.5 million in additional revenue, some 30 percent of which is to be steered toward financial aid, according to Meehan’s office. The university’s fiscal 2018 budget predicts a 3.3 percent increase in expenses, totaling $105.6 million.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.