DURHAM N.H.
Tuition and financial aid are going up for students of New Hampshire’s university system.
The system board of trustees approved a budget on Thursday that hikes tuition an average of nearly 7 percent for in-state students and 5 percent for out-of-staters.
The board also approved increasing financial aid by 11 percent.
Tuition, room and board and fees for in-state students at UNH rise to $19,238. The cost of attending Plymouth State and Keene State rises to nearly $16,000 dollars. Students at the Manchester campus will pay $8,250.
Out-of-state students will pay just more than $32,000 at UNH, just more than $23,000 at Keene and Plymouth and nearly $21,000 at the Manchester campus.
The increases were part of a $384 million operating budget, a 5.1 percent increase from the current budget, not including financial aid, the trustees said.
The budget includes a 4.1 percent increase in state funding.
Trustees Chairman Andrew Lietz said even with an increase in state aid, and increases in financial aid, the continuing increases in expenses will cause problems.
“We continue to direct as much support as we can to assist lower income state residents with the cost of a higher education,” he said. “However, we are very concerned that the financial barrier may become too formidable for more citizens in the foreseeable future, which will have a negative effect on our citizenry and our economy.”
The 11.3 percent financial aid increase includes money for the Affordable College Effort (ACE) and grants for New Hampshire residents.
ACE awards are provided to eligible in-state students and who will be full-time freshmen or sophomores this fall. The award, combined with other financial aid, will cover the direct costs of attendance during a student’s first two years.
The program originally covered only freshmen. It helped about 130 incoming freshmen last year, with awards of approximately $4,625 each.
–Associated Press
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