The Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education will vote March 28 on whether to once again raise tuition for the state’s four regional universities, this time by approximately 5 percent, to cover its $25 million deficit.

“Tuition will always go up at a steady rate. However, I believe that it going up by 5 percent is too much,” history and Arabic double-major James Angelopoulos said. “With a hike in taxes this upcoming fiscal year, it seems terribly irresponsible of the BOR to consider bumping the rates of students that are arguably of one of the lowest income brackets in the state.”

Tuition at Central Connecticut for state residents, without taking additional fees into account, is currently $10,576 for commuters and $17,620 for those living on-campus in a standard residence hall – that figure rises depending on which dorm a student pays to live in.

With the proposed 5 percent increase, those amounts go up to around $11,132 and $18,547, respectively, and rise even further when extra fees, like meal plans, are included.

For Student Government Association Treasurer-Elect Nicole Elsinger, that’s a concern when it comes to club finding.

“Budget cuts are common with requests submitted due to financial constraints, so typically clubs are expected to supplement the cut costs from their own pockets. From this perspective, I believe the tuition increase will harm the club activity we have on the CCSU campus,” Elsinger said.

With growing tuition draining pockets, Elsinger thinks that the “extra money” clubs need will have to come from somewhere else, whether that be from students having to work extra hours and cut back on spending to acquire the funds that they need, or simply “not partake in extracurricular activities that they enjoy and enrich our campus with.”

“With this in consideration, in combination to the proposed textbook tax, I am concerned for the growing financial burden placed on our shoulders,” Elsinger added.

The initial proposal passed the BOR’s Finance Committee on March 13, with CSCU President Mark Ojakian telling the Connecticut Mirror that the BOR is “asking students to invest a little more in their education.”

“[Ojakian saying that] is poorly stated. As a student, I feel I’m already invested enough in my education as I’m already paying a steep price even though it is lower in comparison to other universities like private ones,” Stephanie Liptack, a sophomore majoring in criminology, said.

“Also, being involved on campus, getting good grades, attending all my classes and making [the] Dean’s List makes me feel like I am already invested in my education, so it makes me question how would paying more money in tuition change my already-studious and avid student life,” she continued.

Though he understands the need to aid the state, Angelopoulos is not a fan of Ojakian’s stance either; in his view, students would be “punished” should the 5 percent increase pass.

“This is not about students having to invest more in education. This is about the state having to invest more. We should not be punished so drastically when it is the state that has instituted multiple budget cuts to education these past few years,” he said.

CCSU’s tuition without the increase has already driven students away. Jaylah Green, a would-be sophomore, is turning to Capital Community College in the fall because she cannot sign up for classes at CCSU without paying the university what she owes. At Capital, she’ll have to pursue her degree from the very beginning.

“I had to [pay] out-of-pocket about $16,000 for the 2017-2018 school year [at CCSU]. I’m still currently paying that off,” Green said. She had to get a second part-time to pay her loans, which went to deferment. “Because of the money I owe, I can’t send my transcript [to Capital] because of the hold. So I basically have to start over.”

“Some kids have to pay themselves and people don’t really care,” she went on. “And now they wanna raise tuition even more? It’s no wonder kids are not going to college and getting full-time jobs now.”

CCSU, and Connecticut as a whole, losing students because of rising tuition is a concern for political science sophomore Porter Brasell.

“I worry a lot about tuition hikes because I think they’ll scare people off from staying in Connecticut for their education and beyond,” Brasell stated.

Ojakian told NBC Connecticut that even with the heightened tuition, the BOR’s $25 million deficit won’t be entirely covered and that universities will have to “dip into their reserves up to $20 million.”