Tuition has gone up 1.7 percent for the Class of 2017, and it’s the smallest percent increase in 18 years. For the small increase, the University administrators deserve a pat on the back, but we say that with some reservation. While this is one of the smallest raises in nearly two decades, it is still an increase on one of the highest in-state tuitions of a public land grant university in the country.

For those prior 18 years, the University had been raising money at a rate that far outpaced inflation. This year, if the board of trustees had exactly matched tuition to inflation, they should have increased tuition more.

Tuition can only go up. At a minimum, it needs to keep pace with inflation. Over the last several years, our tuition has gone up faster than the incomes of aspiring students. The rising tuition just gleans a little bit more from the students who, being priced out of private institutions, have to go with a state school to mitigate the impending flow of student debt.

Often, the University will blame the declining state support for the drastic increases in tuition. Since 2002, state support for the University has fallen $180 million dollars. In the ensuing years, tuition has increased 120 percent, from $5,302 to $11,636 in 2012. As such, the amount of additional revenue the University has pulled in over the last decade has more than made up the lack of money the state stopped providing. The need to bridge that gap is what has raised the tuition so drastically. So the University may blame the state for its tight budget, but it would seem it has more to deal with mismanaged money than anything. 

Still, the University has grown, and as such, there are going to be increased costs. Thankfully, the University tells us, President Bob Easter succeeded in cutting nearly $50 million out of the budget last year, which we congratulate. But, the savings probably won’t trickle down to those who need it the most: students. As we said last week, grant money is also decreasing, so we need to strive for even greater savings.

Even if you were to see any returns on that $50 million savings, tuition will have inevitably increased, diminishing any money you might have seen.

So yes, they did increase tuition at one of the lowest rates in recent history, but that doesn’t make up for the previous hikes, which keep the University out of reach of several Illinois residents who are otherwise qualified to be here. We say congratulate the University, but we do so with reservation.