The board of governors of Rutgers University Monday voted unanimously on a $5.4 billion budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year that raises costs for students. It will increase tuition and fees by 6%, room rates by 5% and dining costs by 7%. It adds up to an additional $387 per semester in tuition and fees.
Rutgers says it will boost financial aid to help maintain affordability. The vote followed an unprecedented, weeklong strike in April by university faculty that led to salary and benefit increases for staff but raised costs for the university. The state kicked in more state aid, as promised by Gov. Phil Murphy, but the university is still running a $77 million deficit.
The board also voted unanimously to create the Rutgers School of Medicine — a merger of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick and the New Jersey Medical School in Newark. The goal is to create a larger school with a single accreditation, according to Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom, who said, “Combining the two schools gives more opportunity. The class sizes are not going to change. The faculty component is not going to shrink; it’s only going to increase. The student-to-faculty ratio is not going to get worse. The clinical facilities are not going to decrease in the process.“
That vote followed vehement public dissent from doctors, students, teachers and community members, who cited a 2012 state law that requires the two medical schools must serve their respective communities. The 1968 Newark Accords also require University Hospital in Newark to provide critical health care in the city.
