The CUNY Student Senate wants the university’s Board of Trustees to do away with a $200 tuition hike and a $120 health and wellness fee that all of its students are facing.
Despite student protests, the CUNY Board of Trustees approved the increase 9-2 as part of the 2020 fisucal budget during the June vote, according to Politico.
Currently, annual tuition at CUNY is $7,140 for New York residents and $14,810 for out-of-state residents. Since 2011, CUNY tuition has increased by 38%. For graduate students, tuition and fees are $11,082 for New Yorkers and $20,232 for everyone else. Over the past four years, CUNY tuition has increased by $800.
Before the June hearing, advocates from CUNY Rising Alliance and the CUNY staff union stood by students and decried the tuition increase while also calling for a contract of $7,000 per course for adjunct professors, according to the Queens Daily Eagle.
Administrators argue that these increases are necessary to allow for the university system to function properly, according to The Nation.
Although the increase in spending may not seem like much to some, about 42% of CUNY students come from households with annual incomes less than $20,000.
