University of Illinois system trustees have endorsed a plan to increase enrollment at its three campuses by 15% over the next five years. University of Illinois President Tim Killeen presented the plan to the Board of Trustees. The plan's goal would have more than 93,600 students enrolled at the school's campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield.
Killeen says the effort will expand academic programs and opportunities for Illinois students and minorities as a means of curbing the number of students going out of state for college. Trustee Jill Smart said Illinois has to compete with out-of-state schools that offer discounted costs to Illinois students.
The university system already has seen enrollment grow in recent years with officials saying 12,700 students have been added since fall 2006.
Trustees also decided not to raise tuition rates next fall for in-state freshmen for a third-straight year. School officials say it's the longest time tuition rates have held steady for four years since the mid-1970s.
The school noted that trustees made the decision despite the lack of a state budget that has reduced government funding for the University of Illinois system for the last two years.
Base tuition for in-state freshmen will be about $12,000 a year at the Urbana-Champaign campus, about $9,400 in Springfield and $10,580 in Chicago. Chicago freshmen business administration students will have to pay an addition $150 annually for a tuition differential. Some increases were approved for out-of-state and international students.
