U of I trustees approve tuition hike

Freshmen starting school at the University of Illinois in the fall will face higher costs.

Facing $381 million worth of late payments from the state, the university’s board of trustees voted today to raise tuition for the incoming class by 9.5 percent and give schools the power to borrow.

The base tuition for freshmen at the U of I in Urbana will increase $902 per year to $10, 368. At the Chicago campus, it will jump $792 to $9,134. Students attending U of I Springfield will pay $706 more for a total of $8,108.

This increase can only apply to freshman because the state's truth-in-tuition law guarantees incoming students steady rates for the next four years. The board approved fee increases that included raising the application fee for prospective students by $10.

President Stanley Ikenberry said in a news release that the university could not wait any longer on the legislators to pass a budget because students and their families need to be prepared for the increased tuition costs. "We decided to set tuition so students and their families can plan realistically for the next school year," Ikenberry said in the release.

The board also authorized the schools to take out short-term loans, under SB 642 which passed both chambers, in anticipation of receiving state funds.