Rutgers students face 4% tuition hike for fall. What about dining plan, residence fees?

Rutgers University students will pay a 4% increase in tuition and fees for the coming academic year after the university approved a $5.6 billion budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.  

In addition to an increase in tuition and mandatory fees by 4% for most undergraduate and graduate programs, room and board rates and residence education fees will go up by 6%. Dining plan rates will go up by 8% in New Brunswick and Newark, and by 11% in Camden. 

A typical New Jersey resident student can expect to pay $274 more in tuition each semester, and $63 more in mandatory fees. 

Rutgers undergraduates who are New Jersey residents currently pay $13, 674 according to the university website, and fees vary depending on campus, ranging from $2,912 in Newark to $3,405 in Camden and $3,565 in New Brunswick. 

“I’m very concerned about the rise in costs for Rutgers students,” Charlie Kratovil, a Rutgers alum and editor of local news site New Brunswick Today, said during a public comment period. 

During the past academic year, 75% of Rutgers undergraduates received some form of financial aid, chief budget officer David Moore said during Monday's budget presentation. Programs such as the Scarlet Guarantee in New Brunswick, Ru-N to the Top in Newark, and Bridging the Gap in Camden offer significant income-based tuition discounts to students as part of a college affordability law put in place by the Murphy administration. 

Fourth Rutgers tuition increase in four years

This is the fourth increase in student tuition in four consecutive years after a tuition freeze in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tuition went up 6% in 2023, with increases in meal plan and housing costs of 7% and 5%. That hike was linked to new labor contracts with faculty following a university-wide strike.  

Before that, Rutgers’ tuition increases stayed below 3%. 

Tuition rates went up by 2.9% in 2022, 2.6% in 2021, 2.9% in 2019, and 2.3% in 2018. 

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The new budget was announced during a board of governors meeting held Monday. Of the $5.6 billion budget, 77% is spent on the university’s “core mission” of student instruction, research, public service and health care, Moore said. Classroom instruction costs, staff support and faculty salaries make up about 33% of the total expenses.

The next biggest piece of the budget at 21% is spending on public service, agricultural extension programs and health care delivery, such as community services and clinics. Student scholarships and cultural programming make up 11%, and 12% is spent on research funding.  

Administration and operations account for 15% of the budget, while 5% covers “auxiliary” operations like dining, housing and parking.  Athletics spending accounts for 3%, of which nearly three-quarters is supported through funds generated by the athletic program, the university said. 

The university had to raise tuition and fees because of “upward pressure on cost,” Moore said in a presentation Monday. That included salary increases, premiums for health care and pension contributions, student aid based on need and inflation. 

The state of New Jersey contributes 21% of Rutgers’ funding. 

University Treasurer Michael Gower said there was a “tremendous amount of work” going on through the summer to achieve better financial sustainability at the university.