University of Illinois interim president Stanley Ikenberry cautioned today that the next tuition hike would be at least 9 percent but “could go double that” in light of the state’s bleak financial picture.
“It is too early to tell, but I think we need to be prepared to think in those terms,” Ikenberry told the Tribune at the university’s board meeting.
Tuition is guaranteed for four years, so a 9 percent hike would equate to an increase of about 3 to 3.5 percent a year. An 18 percent hike would be about 7 to 7.5 percent a year, Ikenberry said.
Tuition is $9,484 this year for freshman at the Urbana-Champaign campus.
While trustees won’t approve tuition rates until later this year, they approved an increase in fees and housing rates today. At the Urbana-Champaign campus, students will pay $2,842 next year, up 2.8 percent.
Fees in Chicago will be $2,928, up 1.3 percent, and Springfield students will pay $1,713, up 6.4 percent.
“We are holding those down understanding there will be more pressure on the tuition side,” Ikenberry said.
Board chair Christopher Kennedy said he was concerned about tuition, saying he doesn’t want the state’s public flagship university “to be available only to the wealthy.”
Facing a backlog in state payments, U. of I. officials announced earlier this month that employees would be required to take up to 10 unpaid days off.