The University of Illinois Board of Trustees today approved tuition rates for the 2024-25 academic year that freeze undergraduate tuition for resident undergraduate students at the three system universities. This decision reflects the system’s ongoing commitment to affordability.
With today’s action, the system has held resident base undergraduate tuition unchanged in seven of the past 10 years, even during periods of high inflation and despite significant additional expenses incurred during the global pandemic.
“I want to thank our trustees for their vote to freeze tuition for in-state undergraduates again. This decision maintains our ironclad commitment to affordability,” University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen said. “Few things we can do have a more positive impact on the working families of Illinois than holding down the cost of a life-changing college education.”
The board also approved a zero increase in total fees at all three universities for the first time in more than 25 years. Room and board rates increased by 5% at Chicago and Urbana-Champaign, and by 1.4% at Springfield.
Base tuition for in-state undergraduates remains $12,712 a year in Urbana-Champaign, $11,178 a year in Chicago and $321.50 per credit hour at Springfield.
The system also provides more than $283 million in financial aid each year, an increase of $108 million in the past decade. Combined with state and federal aid, financial assistance enables more than a third of undergraduates to pay no tuition or fees.
More than 67% of all Illinois undergraduate students enrolled across the U of I System receive some form of financial aid, and more than half pay less than $3,000 per semester.
The approved tuition rates include increases between 1.7% and 2% for most nonresident undergraduate students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Chicago, and no increases for nonresident undergraduate students at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Chairman Edwards reelected
Donald J. Edwards was unanimously reelected Thursday by his fellow trustees to a sixth one-year term as chairman of the board. A UIUC alumnus, Edwards lives in Chicago and has served as a trustee since 2017.
Edwards is CEO of Flexpoint Ford, the Chicago-based private equity investment firm that he founded in 2004. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance with University Honors and was also a four-year letter-winner on the Illini golf team from 1985 to 1988. He later received an MBA from Harvard Business School with Baker Scholar Distinction.
Edwards complimented the trustees’ commitment to public service and pointed to the crucial role that higher education plays in the state’s overall well-being.
“I am grateful for my fellow trustees’ confidence and for their tireless dedication to serving the needs of faculty, staff, students and alumni at our three outstanding universities,” Edwards said. “Our diverse array of expertise and perspectives are firmly united in our commitment to the public good.
“We are fortunate to work with a thoughtful and visionary administration, and are appreciative of our governor and a General Assembly who truly understand the impact of higher education,” he said. “I want to thank Governor Pritzker for his support not only of the University of Illinois, but public higher education throughout Illinois. With this support, we have made great progress in ensuring affordability for all qualified students, especially those from lower-income families, as evidenced by approving our fifth tuition freeze in the last seven years.”
Rice appointed general counsel
Scott Rice’s appointment as the U of I System’s general counsel was approved. A member of the university counsel’s staff since 2005, Rice succeeds Tom Bearrows, the longest-serving university counsel in the system’s history who retired after more than two decades of service.
Currently titled by the system as the university counsel, the general counsel is a general officer of the board of trustees and serves as the legal adviser to the board, the president and other administrative officers. The position also oversees the legal counsel office that serves the System Offices and the system’s three campuses and is legal counsel to the alumni association and the system’s various corporate outgrowths.
A UIUC history graduate who earned a law degree from Southern Illinois University, Rice advanced through a series of roles in the university counsel’s office. He was campus legal counsel at Urbana-Champaign from 2011 to 2019 and deputy university counsel since 2019.
Chicago office lease authorized
The board also authorized the leasing of approximately 5,621 square feet of office space in Chicago’s Loop for the system leadership’s use. In addition to his office at Urbana, Killeen currently maintains an office at UIC on Chicago’s Near West Side. Replacing the current office, the new office at 200 S. Wacker Drive offers an opportunity to be more centrally located for engagements with donors, dignitaries, colleagues from partner university systems, state legislators and other political and business leaders.
The annual base rent for the new office is $163,009 with 2.5% annual escalations.
Illini Union roof project
The board increased the project budget for the complete tear-off and replacement of the Illini Union’s tile roofs from $15 million to $21.4 million. Trustees approved the project in March, but construction bids received in November were considerably higher than anticipated. The increased cost reflects current market conditions and the relative scarcity of specialized contractors required for the project.
The replacement roof tile has an expected life of 100 years. The project scope includes updates to 78 dormers on the building, including window and trim replacement and associated masonry work. The project is expected to take multiple years to complete.
