Optional fees, including room and board, parking and health insurance, increased by $344
WESTFIELD – The cost of education is going up at Westfield State University, but officials say the local campus remains one of the best bargains in the state.
The university’s Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a $455, or 6 percent, increase in mandatory student fees for the 2011-2012 school year. Mandatory fees cover student activity, general funding, capital improvement and technology.
College officials said the increase is necessary to offset a reduction of more than $250,000 in state funding, lost federal stimulus funding and the need to address maintenance issues at the Western Avenue campus.
Optional fees, including room and board, parking and health insurance, were increased by $344, for a total increase of $799, or 5 percent, over current student expenses.
A full-time student will pay at total of $16,833, which includes all fees and room and board, for the new school year that begins in September. The 2010-2011 total student bill was $16,034.
The increase places WSU eighth out of nine state universities in enrollment costs for students, officials said.
“Westfield remains the best value in Massachusetts with its 62 percent graduation rate and lowest cost of any institution in the higher education system in Western Massachusetts,” WSU president Evan S. Dobelle said.
Evan S. Dobelle“This has been accomplished with no layoffs, no furloughs and an increase of $250,000 in financial aid to our students,” said Dobelle.
The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a 7.5 percent increase in fees, or $880 to attend its various campuses this fall. The one-year tuition, fees and room and board cost at UMass in Amherst will now be $22,124, up from the current $20,546.
The average college cost in the state university program will be $18,054 annually in September.
WSU trustees on Thursday also approved a new university budget of $84.1 million, up $4.4 million over current spending.
“It is balanced and addresses important issues,” said Gerald W. Hayes, vice president of administration and finance.
Most importantly, the fee and budget increase “addresses maintenance that has been deferred in recent years because of declining revenue,” Hayes told trustees.
The budget and fee schedule was recommended by an all-campus budget committee, Hayes said.
Included in the $455 fee hike is $100 annually that will be charged to students for capital improvements on campus. That will raise about $450,000 next year and the college will use another $665,000 in reserve funding to address maintenance.
Hayes said the new fee sets the stage for a 10-year, estimated $27 million plan to address maintenance issues.
Room and board fee increase ranges from $150 to $300, depending on plans selected by students. Also, there was a $1,100 increase, from $6,400 to $7,500 per school year, in the cost of a single student room at Lansdowne Place, the downtown Westfield housing complex for students.
“We undercharged for this school year,” Hayes said. The university has 216 students assigned to housing at Lansdowne Place.
Campus parking will increase by $10 to $25 depending on the type of sticker students purchase, and those who take advantage of health insurance plans will pay an additional $70 annual to a total of $1,137.
WSU established a new nursing program on campus within the past year and Hayes announced the intent is to establish a new $1,000 fee for those students in the 2012-2013 academic year to help finance the program.