To offset financial difficulties, Eastern may be considering a tuition raise for new students. Robert Webb, vice chairman of Eastern’s Board of Trustees, told the Illinois Statehouse News on March 22 that raising tuition has become necessary because universities are getting less money and later payments from the state.

“I would anticipate that there will be a tuition increase; I don’t think it would be a large increase in terms of percentages,” Webb said. “But of course, it only applies to the freshman class, and that would be a guaranteed rate for the next four years.”

When The Daily Eastern News asked Webb if he still believes this holds true, he confirmed.

“In our last couple of meetings, we’ve been looking at the financial picture and looking ahead at the funds available with state appropriations,” Webb said.

“We’ve projected these figures and believe it is a possibility.”

This news follows the recent decision by the University of Illinois’ Board of trustees to increase U of I tuition by 6.9 percent for incoming students this year, the Illinois Statehouse News reported. This means new students at Illinois’ Champaign-Urbana campus will pay $11,104 a year in tuition. Students at the Chicago campus will pay $9,764 and students in Springfield will pay $8,108.

Those figures are set for four years, not including fees and room and board.

William Weber, vice president for business affairs, would not confirm whether or not the university would be raising tuition or not. However, he said the university will make a recommendation regarding tuition to the Board of Trustees at its next meeting on April 25.

When evaluating tuition rates, the university looks at several factors including university expenses and enrollment, Weber said. Expected state appropriations also play a key role in determining tuition, Weber added.

For this fiscal year, the university has received about 42 percent of the $47.4 million of the appropriations owed from the state. However, Weber said the university may not receive the remainder of funds until the next fiscal year.

In order to make a recommendation for a tuition raise, the president’s council discusses these criteria at length. However, the ultimate decision to make a recommendation to the board lies with President Bill Perry.

Shelley Holmgren can be reached at 581-7942 or meholmgren@eiu.edu.