The University of Illinois Board of Trustees has approved tuition increases at the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses, starting this fall. But trustees chose to keep tuition flat at the Springfield campus.
Incoming in-state freshmen will see tuition rise 1.9% at UIUC and UIC. That will raise Urbana-Champaign tuition by $238 to $12,712 a year. In Chicago, the price will go up $208 to $11,178. Under state law, the tuition cost for freshmen will stay the same for four years.
“These modest increases will allow our universities to maintain the excellence that students and their families expect and manage inflationary pressures that are driving up our expenses,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said. “This decision by trustees, alongside our commitment to providing financial aid that makes a real difference in students’ lives, aligns with our promise to maintain access and affordability at our universities.”
Springfield, which of the three campuses has struggled the most with enrollment, will remain $321.50 per credit hour. The tuition rate for out-of-state and international freshmen at UIS will also remain steady. The rate for those students at the other campuses will between 2.2% and 2.5% more.
The U of I System said it has made student financial aid a priority for more than a decade, and now provides about $277 million annually, in addition to state and federal aid. Because of this commitment, the system indicated about 37% of in-state undergraduate students at system universities pay no tuition.
Trustees also approved fee and housing rate increases for the 2023-24 academic year.
Overall, 94,861 students were enrolled in the fall across the three campuses, an all-time high.
Other board action
At UIS, Linda M. Delene was appointed interim provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs. In the past five years, she served as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at SUNY Brockport and Belmont Abbey College.
Vickie S. Cook was appointed UIS vice chancellor for Enrollment and Retention Management. She has held a number of administrative positions at the university in the last nine years, including in online and professional learning, as well as educational leadership and teacher education.
Trustees extended UIUC football coach Bret Bielema’s contract by two years, through January 2029, and increased his compensation. Bielema’s annual salary increases from $4.2 million to $6 million, with annual $150,000 raises to follow and the opportunity to earn various bonuses.
Trustees also voted to make standardized tests optional for non-resident and international applicants. State law bars public universities from requiring standardized tests for in-state applicants. The board said the vote to extend that provision to students who are not residents of Illinois provides flexibility for students and allows each university to collect multi-year data on the impact of the test-optional approach.
