for
the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts
Dec.
8, 2000
|
State board delays tuition vote Chronicle staff 
recently released national study that gave Massachusetts
low marks for affordable colleges may lead to tuition cuts at state
and community colleges.Meeting in Salem on Tuesday, the Board of Higher Education unexpectedly postponed approving a plan to freeze in-state tuition rates for the 2001-02 academic year. According to The Boston Globe, board chairman Stephen P. Tocco said after the meeting that he wants to review financial information from public colleges before voting on tuition rates for next year. "Some [tuitions] may even go down more," he told the Globe. Last week, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank in San Jose, Calif., gave Massachusetts a grade of "D" for affordability at its public and private colleges and universities. The Bay State was ranked seventh most expensive, while Rhode Island colleges were ranked the least affordable in the country. New Hampshire was second on the list and Maine finished third. Regionally, only Connecticut received a grade better than a "D." The Board of Higher Education approves tuition rates at community and state colleges, while tuition for the University system is set by the Board of Trustees. Both boards have reduced costs over the past five years. The average tuition for the University system is $4,455 and state colleges charge $3,040, while the national average for four-year schools is $3,510, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Massachusetts community college tuition averages $2,042 per year, compared with a national average of $1,075. In other business, the Board of Higher Education approved a Fiscal 2001 budget request of $1.146 billion, which would boost funding 4.5 percent. |
