UCONN Must Not Increase its Tuition

Hartford, CT – State Senator Toni Boucher (R-Wilton) ranking member of the General Assembly’s Higher Education Committee released the following statement today re: UCONN budget shortfall.

“A recent memo from the University of Connecticut revealed that the university is facing a $46.2 million budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1. This is a 4 percent shortfall of the funding needed to continue its existing programs.

“The university has indicated that it may consider a further tuition increase to cover some of this shortfall. This is deeply troubling to those among us who see higher education as a means of assuring equity and access to good jobs for graduates regardless of their financial circumstances.

“The state of Connecticut has invested billions of dollars in UCONN to pay for additional staff and programs. We support and value this university and want it to remain financially viable option for our state residents, who already pay some of the highest taxes in the country.

“I look to the university leadership to find the necessary savings internally to cover the deficit, and hope that no further tuition increase will be forthcoming. In this difficult economy, we must do everything possible to keep the cost of higher education affordable for our students.”