University of Illinois Considers Raising Tuition

The University of Illinois' Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on raising tuition by 6.9 percent during its meeting Wednesday in Springfield.

Board members approved a measure in January to tie tuition increases with the rate of inflation. If trustees approve the tuition hike, students who come to the University next fall would pay 2.7 percent more a year, a figure U of I spokesman Tom Hardy says is near the rate of inflation. Those figures don't include fees, room and board.

"I would call it a conservative proposal," Hardy said. "That reflects concerns about affordability, reflects the need to be able to protect the university's purchasing power by adjusting for inflation."

Under the proposal, new students at the university's Urbana-Champaign campus would pay $11,104 a year in tuition. Students at the Chicago campus would pay $9,764, while students in Springfield would pay $8,670.

Hardy said the increased tuition is smaller than what has been introduced in the last decade. He said with the U of I waiting on about $440 million in state payments, the University hopes to generate about $35 million in additional revenue. About 17 percent of that revenue would be used for need-based grants.