Student's perspective on URI Tuition Increase

By: Jeremy Dawson

 

The Rhode Island Board of Education, approved a budget

request that increases the tuition for Rhode Island public

colleges.

 

At the University of Rhode Island the tuition is being risen 2.8

percent, or $356, bring the total to $12,506. Out-of-state

tuition is increasing 8.6 percent, or $914, bringing the total

cost for non-Rhode Island residents to $28,072.

 

Not only is the tuition increasing but in recent history students

are expected to contribute a great deal of their own funding.

 

The Providence Journal Reported, “Students are bearing an

increasingly larger share of the cost of operating colleges as

state lawmakers have pulled back on funding higher education since the mid-1990s.

‘When I went to college in the ’70s, 70 percent of the cost of

college was funded by the state,’ Purcell said during his

presentation to the board. ‘That contract with America has

declined.’

About 71 percent of the cost of public higher education in

Rhode Island is paid for by students, compared with about 47

percent, on average, for students in other states, according to data from the State Higher Education Executive Offices presented to the board.”

 

Liana Tun, a sophomore out-of-state nursing student at URI, feels that the significant difference in the percentage increase between in-state and out-of-state students is unfair. Despite out-of-state students already paying well over twice what in-state students do, URI is increasing out-of-state rates by nearly three times the amount that they are in-state.

 

URI had a freeze in tuition last year and an increase in financial aid. URI President David Dooley said a year ago, “We believe the tuition freeze for both in-state and out-of-state students, as well as the increase in financial aid, is an important step forward in addressing affordability and access to higher education.”

 

URI is also in the midst of a lot of renovations. The new Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences is being built now as well as a complete remodeling and restructuring of the Butterfield Dining Hall. The school has other new buildings such as the Fascitelli Fitness & Wellness Center and the Hillside Residence Hall. Some might suggest that this is the cause for the jump in tuition.

 

Solomon Bein, a junior in-state English major at URI, feels that this could have a negative effect on his living situation. Already conflicted on if he should live on-campus or commute, the extra money added onto his tuition may become the deciding factor on where he lives next year.