Student Demand Prompting Increases To Some Fees At UConn

STORRS, CT — Some fees are about to go ups at the University of Connecticut.

UConn officials at Wednesday's trustees meeting said the school is adjusting the fees to cover the "increasing cost of providing specific services," that include adding mental health clinicians and case managers in response to students' requests for more access to those services.

The UConn Board of Trustees Wednesday adopted the plan, which its Financial Affairs Committee unanimously endorsed a day earlier. The plan was presented in detail at two online town hall discussions on Nov. 30 and an in-person session on Dec. 2.

"UConn’s guiding principles when setting fees are to protect affordability by increasing them only when absolutely necessary to cover increased costs; to promote simplicity and transparency so the fees can be easily understood; and to use the revenue to help ensure financial stability and quality of the programming it funds," officials said.

The FY24 fees were adjusted to account for inflation; increases in specific services such as the mental health programming; and the costs of contractually negotiated salary increases for employees who coordinate and deliver the fee-funded services in each area, officials said.

Every student fee category at UConn "correlates to specific services funded by that revenue," officials added.

The changes are go into effect with the new fiscal year starting July 1 and do not affect the five-year tuition plan adopted in 2019 for fiscal years 2021-25.

Overall, the FY24 fee changes will equal a $272 increase in mandatory fees for Storrs-based undergraduates and graduate students and a 2.75 percent increase in Storrs housing and dining rates, equaling about $374 for the most commonly selected meal plans and typical housing options, according to the plan. The rates keep the adjustments below inflation while also supporting programming and meeting increased costs that are beyond UConn's control, officials said.

For regional campus students who commute, the total fee increase will be $162. The fee rates differ for regional campus students because they do not have regular access to some of the Storrs-based services, such as on-campus media outlets and Student Union programming, officials said. Included in the total is a $90 increase in the Student Health & Wellness fee, which the university will blend with institutional funding to hire four more mental health counselors and three more case workers, in addition to the six at Storrs and five at the regional campuses who were added in the past few years, officials said.

UConn officials said the expansion responds to calls from students and a report by the President’s Task Force on Mental Health, all of which told of a sharp increase in student mental healthcare needs – especially since the coronavirus pandemic – and the need for more practitioners, including at the regional campuses.