Facing huge deficits, Connecticut state universities get tuition increase

With budget deficits looming, the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Board of Regents approved a 3% increase in state university tuition and fees Thursday. Connecticut community college students fear a price hike will strike their institutions next.

The increase will go into effect for the 2023-2024 school year, raising the average undergraduate tuition and fees by $184 per semester for in-state undergraduate students and $208 for in-state graduate students of Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Connecticut State universities.

This is the second increase the board has approved this year. In February, the BOR imposed a roughly 5% tuition and fee increase at an average of $291 per semester for the 2022-2023 school year after a two-year tuition freeze during the pandemic.

Before the vote, CSCU President Terrence Cheng said the community college and state university system is projecting a deficit of more than $100 million in fiscal year 2024 and $120 million in fiscal year 2025.

“Of course, there is concern and there should be,” Cheng said. “Enrollment drops are real. Unfunded pension liability and contractual obligations are real. [The] Need for more state investment and support from our industry and community partners is real.”

Cheng emphasized the need for university leaders and their student and staff communities to work collaboratively in an effort to develop solutions and make difficult decisions to balance the budget. He also highlighted the necessity of securing long term funding through the state legislature and government office.

“Major, legitimate, challenges lie ahead,” Cheng said. “We are not going to cut our way out of this.”

Richard Balducci, chair of the BOR’s Finance and Infrastructure Committee, made clear that the tuition and fee increase will not solve all of the system’s deficit problems.

“We’re talking about a 3% increase which raises $13.4 million. We’re looking at a deficit of about $56 million for the universities,” Balducci said.

The decision also encompassed increases to housing and food services fees for the 2023-2024 school year.

On the lower end, room and board at Central Connecticut State University will go up $71 and the dining plan will increase by $52. On the high end, Southern Connecticut State University will increase its housing fee by $152 and its food service fee by $161 per semester.

Systemwide, undergraduate students paying for university housing and food can expect their bills to increase an average of $828 in-state, $1,216 out-of-state and $924 for Northeast regional students.

The resolution by BOR said that the increase aims to balance student affordability with increasing university costs driven by inflation, existing labor agreements and declining enrollment.

All but one of Thursday’s board members voted in favor of the tuition and fee increases.

“I don’t do this lightly,” Richard Porth said as he cast his opposed vote. “I will have an easier time making these decisions if we can get a better handle on how these tuition movements affect student debt in particular, but also potentially student enrollment.”

Within an hour of the vote, students and staff gathered outside Capital Community College to oppose the BOR decision and say no to future tuition increases.

Capital Community College professor and Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4Cs) President Seth Freeman spoke at both the protest and at the BOR meeting.

“When you are increasing student tuition time and time again, you are not demonstrating a commitment to equity and access,” Freeman said before the BOR’s vote.

Freeman’s students fear that their tuition will be the next to increase.

This dread is particularly acute for Yazmine Goodleff. Goodleff moved to Connecticut from Jamaica in 2021 to pursue her college education at Capital Community College. Because of her immigrant status, Goodleff does not qualify for financial aid or in-state tuition prices. Additionally, at the moment, Goodleff can only legally work at the school, which offers between eight and 20 hours of work per week.

“Twenty hours is not going to make up to $7,000 or more in tuition fees. Personally, that makes it so hard for me to gain access to money to pay my tuition,” Goodleff said. “I feel like we [immigrant students] are really ignored by the population and it’s hard for us to get certain stuff that we really need in order to continue our education.”

Goodleff and her fellow classmates said that if a tuition increase comes to Connecticut community colleges, they will need to find new ways to finance their education.

State Representative and Connecticut General Assembly Higher Education Co-Chair Josh Elliott spoke in solidarity with the students at the protest.

“When we’re seeing year after year enrollment decline, when we’re seeing record rates of inflation, it’s getting harder and harder for people, not only to go to college because the cost of living is so expensive, but it’s just getting harder and harder to just simply live,” Elliott said. “The absolute worst thing we can do is make it more expensive and more punitive for our students in this state to be going to college.”

Alison Cross can be reached at across@courant.com.