The 2011 Rutgers Tuition Protests were a series of primarily student-led public education reform initiatives at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Faced with rising education costs, diminished state subsidies and the possibility of a non-existent tuition cap, campus groups (including the Rutgers Student Union, the Rutgers One Coalition and the Rutgers University Student Assembly, supported by New Jersey United Students), mobilized to keep the increase in annual student financial obligation to a minimum through marches, sit-ins, letters to administration officials, and forums.
State and federal legislation
The Pell Grant, a federal annuity of $5,500 available to low-income students, faced a relatively steep cut in 2011 as Republicans in the United States House of Representatives pushed for further limits on discretionary spending. In 2008, this program provided in excess of $31 million to over 10,000 Rutgers University students.
Rich Williams, an advocate of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, stated that grants are the principal method in which the federal government can assist students in battling rising college tuition costs. He opined that if changes are made to the current program, 1.5 million students would be at risk of losing their funding, while the remaining 7.7 million students could see a 15 percent drop in the amount of attainable awards. During the 2010–2011 academic year, 68 percent of Rutgers students reportedly borrowed through a federal loan program at some point in their collegiate career.
Governor Chris Christie's proposed budget showed a $25 million increase in tuition aid for college students. On the other hand, there are combined decreases of $7.7 million in state funding for the New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship program and other student aid programs. David Redlawsk, poll director, stated that the governor understands the state's responsibility to do more for higher education and is protecting the university.
Tuition policy
Typical in-state students pay $12,755 annually in tuition and mandatory fees, excluding room and board, while out-of-state students pay $25,417 in tuition and fees. A breakdown of the tuition and fees (by semester) is as follows: tuition, campus fee, school fee, off-campus campus fee, dormitory charges, meal plan, computer fee, NJPIRG fee, Targum fee and course fee. According to the Rutgers University Board of Governors, tuition and fee rates are set in July.
Contributing factors
At a glance the cause of the Rutgers tuition protests appear to be simple; however, further scrutiny in the matter reveal local, state and federal involvement to play a more central role in these events. Three years ago, Rutgers froze pay raises on staff and faculty. The union decided in good faith to share the burden with the university and withheld raises for one year. Since then, the university still has not paid raises, amounting to $40 million. In addition, the American Association of University Professors recently funded an independent research on the university's budget, conducted by Howard Bunsis of Eastern Michigan University. Test results showed that the faculty's salary raises were stagnant despite a $177 million surplus in the budget the previous year. The university has yet to confirm this study's analysis.
New federal and state health care laws are also affecting the rise in tuition costs. Legislations requiring full-time college and university students to have health insurance will subsequently raise the cost of minimum coverage provided by the university. James Breeding, director of Risk Management and Insurance at Rutgers, stated, "Effective this coming year, we are going to have a hard waiver program that has a minimum limit of $100,000," he continues, "an increase of between $600 and $800 from the mandatory coverage provided currently with a limit of $5,000 at about $170 per student, which anyone without insurance must pay." Students without health insurance are compelled to buy into this particular program, but at competitive costs. Those with insurance can opt out of the hard waiver program, a change from the former policy regarding a mandatory fee on students' bills.