With the end of the year approaching, students will have to fill out their FASFA and start thinking about next year’s tuition and financial aid. STN decided to take a look at how tuition breaks down and adds up here at Hartford. We spoke with University President Walter Harrison to get all the budget details.
The University’s largest expense is paying the staff said Harrison, seventy percent of the overall budget goes into paying their paychecks, pensions, and healthcare. The other thirty percent is for the maintaining facilities, utilities, academic programs, Public Safety and other miscellaneous expenses. Cuts were made last year of about 5.2 million dollars which included mostly office staff. The added money went into financial aide which many thought would need a boost after the economy went south. “Last year Hartford increased financial aide six million dollars approximately, helping hundreds of students” proclaimed Harrison. “Unfortunately this is an unsustainable amount and we will have to roll back financial aide this year” said Harrison.
When asked about tuition increases Harrison said there will probably be around a three percent increase. This will be to cover rising healthcare costs of the staff, and to allow room for a very modest pay raise for professors. Harrison went on to say “no one received a salary increase last year, and we can’t do that again, it doesn’t put us in a competitive position with other schools”.
It seems that the University is aware of financial problems but has its own issues to work out as well.