Rutgers tuition, fees increase by 2.6 percent for 2021-2022 school year
The University will increase tuition and fees for the upcoming academic year by 2.6 percent following approval earlier today by the Rutgers Board of Governors, according to a press release.
This involves a 2.5 percent tuition increase and a 2.9 percent mandatory fee increase for most undergraduate and graduate programs, according to the release. A typical in-state undergraduate at Rutgers—New Brunswick will now pay $15,804 in tuition and fees.
These costs were frozen at $15,407 for in-state students during the 2020-2021 school year, with a 15 percent reduction in the campus fee said by the University to take approximately $300 off students’ term bills.
“We know that tuition increases are difficult for our students, especially after a challenging year, and we would avoid any increase if the numbers would allow it,” said Mark Angelson, chair of the Board of Governors.
Tuition and fees for the average in-state Rutgers—Newark student will be $15,208 while in-state Rutgers—Camden students will pay $15,657, according to the release.
In addition, on-campus student residents will pay 2.5 percent more for Rutgers’ housing and dining services, which will bring approximately $13,402 in additional costs, according to an article from NJ Advance Media.
The new tuition increase comes from a $4.8 billion budget approved today by the Board of Governors for the next academic year, according to the release. Meanwhile, the revised budget for this past academic year was $4.45 billion and in the 2019-2020 academic year was $4.6 billion.
“This budget allows us to provide what is most important—excellent academic instruction and research opportunities for our students, first-rate patient care and far-reaching public service while keeping cost increases as low as possible following an extremely difficult year unlike any Rutgers has experienced,” University President Jonathan Holloway said.
In the most recent hearing on student charges for the upcoming academic year, David Moore, chief budget officer at Rutgers, said over 79 percent of students receive some form of financial aid.
The estimated average net cost of attending Rutgers—New Brunswick for in-state, first-year students with grants and scholarships is 56 percent of the usual cost, according to the release. This becomes 49 percent of the total cost for Rutgers—Newark students and 53 percent for Rutgers—Camden students.
The University’s five-year average annual increase in tuition and fees is 1.2 percent, counting the tuition freeze and campus fee reduction, according to the release. In 2019, the five-year average increase was 2.1 percent, making the rise for the 2021-2022 academic year higher than the average before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic but lower than 2.9 percent for 2019-2020.
Beyond fees and tuition, the Board of Governors approved the appointment of Michael E. Zwick, professor at Emory University, as senior vice president for research. The board also named Mark Angelson as its chair for a third term and William Best as its vice chair for a second term, according to an article from Rutgers Today.
John P. Hughes, a distinguished professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was named the George A. and Margaret M. Downsbrough Chair in Astrophysics, according to the article. Christopher J. Molloy, who is stepping down as Rutgers—New Brunswick chancellor this month, will return as a university professor on July 1. A number of other professors received new titles as of today's meeting.
The Board also agreed to rename the Administrative Services Building 1 on the Busch campus to Dr. Samuel Dewitt Proctor Hall after the late Martin Luther King distinguished professor of Education at Rutgers.
Rutgers will also proceed with the second phase of the New Jersey Medical School's Medical Science Building modernization project, which will cost approximately $5 million. This phase builds off the schematic designs from the first phase, which was approved in November 2019, and will move into design development, particularly in regard to infrastructure upgrades.
