The Rutgers University Board of Governors has approved a $5.1 billion budget for the 2022-23 academic year that includes a 2.9% increase in tuition and fees, according to a June 21 press release from the state university.
“We remain committed to providing excellence in academic experience and opportunity at an affordable and accessible price, and to ensuring that this necessary, measured increase does not affect our neediest students.
“Our focus on financial aid programs and net cost reflects that promise to our students, who have shown enormous resolve through the economic and other challenges of recent years,” said Mark A. Angelson, chair of the Rutgers University Board of Governors.
Tuition and fees, which account for more than 28% of university revenues, help fund academic programs and university services, including academic advising, library services, computing services, student health services, counseling and financial aid, according to the press release.
“This budget will support a vibrant and enriching university experience, including world class academic instruction and research opportunities, unparalleled patient care and essential public service as we move forward in these challenging times,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said.
For in-state, full-time arts and sciences undergraduates at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, tuition and fees for the upcoming academic year will be $16,263 before any financial aid is applied.
At Rutgers University-Newark, tuition and fees for a typical full-time arts and sciences undergraduate will be $15,648.
At Rutgers University-Camden, a typical arts and sciences undergraduate’s tuition and fees will be $16,112 before financial aid, according to the press release.
The majority of Rutgers undergraduate students – nearly 75% – received some form of student financial aid in academic year 2020-21. As a result, the estimated net price to attend Rutgers-New Brunswick for in-state, first-year students receiving aid was approximately 48% of the published cost of attendance.
The net price for a Rutgers-Newark student was 44% of the total cost and 39% for a Rutgers-Camden student, according to the press release.
For the three out of four Rutgers students who received some form of student financial aid, individual costs were reduced by federal, state, private or institutional financial aid programs, including need-based and merit-based grants, scholarships and loans.
This year, among the student financial aid programs are the Scarlet Promise Grants and undergraduate financial aid programs at Rutgers-New Brunswick, Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden that, combined with the New Jersey Garden State Guarantee, provide free tuition and mandatory fees for all eligible New Jersey students with family incomes below $65,000, and provide for significantly reduced tuition and fees for those whose families earn between $65,000 and $100,000, according to the press release.
In addition to tuition and fees (28% of revenues), other revenue sources in the new budget include patient care services (21.5%), the state of New Jersey (20.1%) and sponsored research (14.5%). Miscellaneous sources account for nearly 16% of revenues.
More than 77% of the budget is spent on the university’s core mission of student instruction, research, public service and patient care, according to the press release.
The newly adopted budget spends 15.2% on administration, operations and maintenance, and nearly 5% on auxiliary expenses, including housing and dining operations and student transportation. Athletics spending accounts for 2.7% of the budget, according to the press release.
“This is a reasonable budget that pays careful attention to expenditures during a time of many challenges, including rampant inflation and uncertainty about the continuing effects of the (coronavirus) pandemic,” said Michael Gower, executive vice president, chief financial officer and university treasurer.