I feel sorry for kids these days:
"UMass looks at another fee hike; Costs could rise 6 to 8 percent; wage contracts, funding loss cited" May 23, 2011|By Noah Bierman and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
University of Massachusetts students may be facing a cost increase of 6 to 8 percent, the chairman of the board confirmed yesterday. If approved, it would add to the 15.8 percent increase OK’d two years ago....
That is a 25% INCREASE!
Fees could rise as much as $880 per year for the average UMass undergraduate student; that would raise the combined tuition and fees for in-state students to an average of $11,900 per year.
“It’s such a bad situation,’’ Michael G. Fox, a recent UMass Amherst graduate, said of the climbing costs. “The financial interest of the university [is being pitted] against the affordability and access for the general student population,’’ added Fox, who serves as a student representative on the university’s board....
James J. Karam, chairman of the UMass board, said UMass is making cuts to solve some of its financial problems, but will still need to ask students to pay higher fees.
University officials say they are looking for cuts to help plug a $54.5 million budget gap, but must contend with salary increases awarded to UMass unions and the loss of $37.8 million in federal stimulus money.
Oh, the BAD, BAD UNIONS again!
The raise for UMass union workers will cost the university system $16.7 million, according to officials....
Honestly, I am SICK and TIRED of the UNION BASHING by the elitists and corporate newspaper.
University officials say they have tried to minimize cost increases in recent years by cutting spending. But the cuts mean students get less for their money — fewer professors, classrooms that are cleaned less often, older lab equipment....
And the campus reflects it!
Related: No Safe Schools in Massachusetts
More for less isn't going to make UMass more appealing.
Public campuses across the country are having difficulty keeping student costs down as state legislatures deal with lower tax collections....
Uh-huh.
Yup, only been told we been out of recession for two years, blah, blah, blah. Wouldn't that tax base be coming back if that were true?
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And here is what your increased costs and cuts are going for, dear readers:
"UMass staff among state’s top earners" February 04, 2011|Matt Carroll, Globe Staff
More than 6,400 state employees — a group dominated at the top by UMass doctors, professors, and at least one coach — earned more than $100,000 in 2010, according to payroll records released yesterday by the state comptroller’s office.
The state’s highest-paid employee was Donna Ambrosino, executive director of MassBiologics at the UMass Medical School, who earned $792,885. For those who work at the medical school, the vast majority of the money for their pay comes from patient care and not from the state, said Mark Shelton, a medical school spokesman.
Derek Kellogg, head coach of the UMass men’s basketball team, earned $498,216, the seventh-highest salary in the state.
Related: Pigs at the State Trough
Heck of a raise for a mediocre, sub-.500 coach.
Only one of the state’s top 100 highest-paid employees was not from the UMass system — Henry M. Nields, the chief medical examiner, who earned $242,337. The next highest-paid non-UMass employee was William Lewis Jr., a State Police lieutenant, who earned $228,540....
UMass of Moolah!
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Look who else got a raise:
"UMass president had 6.5% raise in compensation last year" April 04, 2011|By Lisa Kocian, Globe Staff
And now your costs are increasing by the same amount, kiddo?
Since you are in college I assume you can put two and two together, right?
Outgoing University of Massachusetts president Jack Wilson saw a 6.5 percent increase in compensation in 2009 to 2010, compared with the previous fiscal year, according to university figures and a report from the Chronicle of Higher Education on public college presidents’ salaries and other benefits.
Wilson earned $581,535, including salary, retirement payments, and a housing allowance. He is one of 59 college leaders who earned above $500,000 in compensation and other perks, in a survey of 185 chief executives of public colleges nationwide, according to the report, released today.
The median nationwide was $440,487, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which uses the term “total cost of employment’’ to include base pay, bonuses, deferred compensation, retirement pay, and other perks such as housing and car allowances. The highest salary was $1.8 million, earned by the head of Ohio State University.
Wilson’s base salary of $425,000 has been the same for the past three years, according to Robert Connolly, spokesman for UMass. Last year’s income increase was in “deferred compensation,’’ which in his case is retirement plan contributions by the university, said Connolly.
Connolly said Wilson’s salary is comparable to those of leaders in similar roles, and justified despite the $54 million budget shortfall facing the university next fiscal year, which he said the school is working to address.
“We think his compensation is in line with what his peers are receiving nationwide,’’ he said.
Is that going to fly with you when you open that bill, kiddo?
Wilson, who lives in a private residence in Westborough, also received a $45,000 housing allowance, said Connolly. Only presidents who live in private housing receive such an allowance, he said.
Three other Massachusetts public college leaders were included in the report, which looked at four-year institutions with fall enrollments of at least 10,000 students.
Robert Holub, chancellor of UMass Amherst, received a package of pay and benefits worth $417,375. J. Keith Motley, chancellor of UMass Boston, earned $289,727. And Martin Meehan, chancellor of UMass Lowell, got $335,500.
Also see: Chancellor at UMass may face ax
E. Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State University, was the nation’s highest-paid public college chief executive, and received more than $1.8 million in salary and other benefits. He has topped the list since he became president in 2007, according to the report.
Setting aside college leaders who started or ended their terms in the 2009-2010 school year, the lowest-paid chief executive was Timothy Donovan, head of the Vermont State Colleges system, who made a base salary of $190,000, which gave him a total of $212,800, including perks.
Wilson steps down June 30, after nearly eight years at the helm. His successor, Robert Caret, will make nearly $600,000 during his first year on the job....
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Related: New UMass president to make almost $600000 in salary, perks
That's your lesson for today, kids.
