By Michael Walsh
The CSUS Board of Trustees voted Thursday to freeze tuition of four state schools and a second one-year freeze on the salaries of management and non-union unclassified staff, starting in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2011.
The board went on record at Thursday’s meeting at Eastern Connecticut State University saying it will keep tuition at the same level as it is now. This is the first freeze in more than a decade, with the last freeze coming in the 1999-2000 academic year. Students attending Central Connecticut State University, Western Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University or Southern Connecticut State University in the Fall of 2011 will pay the same tuition as students are now. Student accident and sickness insurance fees were excluded in the board’s action, as those amounts aren’t set by the universities.
“The decision by the trustees is proper and necessary – and will be welcomed by students and their parents,” said Governor Jodi Rell in a statement. “College costs for all Connecticut students have grown increasingly unaffordable. I have repeatedly cautioned that a college education – the key that unlocks the economic future of our children – will soon be out of reach for many families unless these costs are reduced. I am pleased that the trustees have opted to take steps to rein in some of these costs.”
While the board has made its intentions clear to hold the tuition, they still have reserved the right to be able to drop the freeze should the state’s financial situation worsen in the coming year.
Rell also stated that she hopes that the University of Connecticut will “follow the example of the CSU System: to hold the line on unaffordable raises and to look for cost-cutting measures and savings before opting for yet another increase in tuition.”
CSUS schools currently sits among the lowest priced schools in the Northeast. The average cost for a commuter student at the four schools in the 2010-2011 academic year is $8,043 while residents are paying an average of $17,997.
In a press release issued today, Angelo Messina, chairman of the CSUS finance and administration committee, said that it “is important that CSUS maintain the accessibility and affordability of its universities to the greatest extent possible, recognizing that our students and potential students are among those that are most affected by the prolonged economic downturn.” Messina’s finance and administration committee made the recommendation to the full board.
The salary freeze, which will go into effect in fiscal year 2012, will impact non-union personnel at all four state universities, including the chancellor, university presidents and vice presidents, deans of students, police chiefs, human resources administrators, confidential administrative assistants and system-level management and confidential staff. The salary freeze was first suggested in July by CSUS Board Chairman Karl J. Krapek and Chancellor David G. Carter.