UMass panel recommends 4.9 percent tuition hike

Caret said that after briefing Reville on his tuition plan last week Reville initially “indicated his support.” In a Tuesday night phone interview, Caret said, “I felt comfortable until 11 o’clock this morning when he called back.”

Attempts to reach Reville on Tuesday night were unsuccessful. Patrick’s letter made clear that the governor had “directed” Reville to vote against the proposal.

The increase would raise tuition and fees by 4.9 percent, generating an additional $25 million in revenue that would go toward previously negotiated contract increases. University officials asserted the increase was within national norms. The increase would raise the average in-state cost of attending UMass from $11,901 to $12,481.

In a phone interview, Board of Trustees Chairman James J. Karam asserted that UMass had been efficient while engaged in new statewide construction that will be worth $500 million. The past decade’s construction campaign has cost $2.4 billion. Since 2009, the university’s budget from the state has dropped $147 million from $565 million to $418 million.

According to the recommended vote, the board would hold its tuition and fees to $12,481 through spring of 2015 if the state increased its funding back up to 50 percent of the university’s education costs.

“I think it’s a fair proposition,” said Karam.

The 50-50 split was last achieved in fiscal 2009. Since then, the share of costs paid by students and families has risen to 55 percent. A university spokesman said a $100 million investment would effectuate the even split.

The only other voting student member of the Board of Trustees agreed. Peter Schock, a 23-year-old finance major at UMass Dartmouth, said that the added burden to students was a worthwhile trade to maintain the school’s academic excellence.

“We need that money to provide a top-ranked public research institute,” said Schock, who graduated this year but said he spoke with other students who said they agreed with the need.

Schock, who grew up in Norwood and has a civic engagement minor, said that while attending college he worked at a finance firm in Boston and a bar in Chatham to help pay for college. Schock’s parents, a teacher and an electrician, helped out as well, he said.