UMass Spending on Financial Aid Rises Nearly $20 Million

UMass Spending on Financial Aid Rises Nearly $20 Million

UMass President Marty Meehan announced on Wednesday that the University's own spending on financial aid for students has rose by almost $20 million during the current academic year, increasing from $236 million to $255 million, the highest level ever. 

“As a UMass graduate who worked my way through school, I’m extremely mindful of the financial pressures that students and their families feel – pressures that are even more acute today than they were in the past,”“The trustees, the chancellors, the entire leadership of the University are committed to making UMass as affordable as it can be -- and the additional $20 million we have dedicated to financial aid demonstrates how serious we are about this critical issue,”  President Meehan said, in a prepared statement. 

Financial aid from all sources grew from $816 million to $835.5 million, President Meehan noted, as a report on the topic was presented tot he Board of Trustees' Committee on Administration and Finance. 

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Highlights of the report are as follows: 

• UMass students this year received $334 million in need-based aid.
• Need-based aid accounted for $105 million of the University’s own spending on financial aid.
• The average net cost for a UMass in-state undergraduate living on campus in academic year 2014-2015 was $16,399. Net cost reflects tuition, fees, and room and board, minus grant and scholarship aid.
• Federal aid and aid supplied by UMass account for 82 percent of all financial aid received by UMass students.
• All UMass in-state undergraduate students determined to have financial need received some form of aid this year.

 

“The state has made it clear that quality and affordability at UMass is a significant priority, and I commend Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and all of our supporters in the Legislature for taking this action,” said President Meehan. 

Meehan noted that the state Government's decision to approve a $10.9 million in supplemental funding for UMass, $7 million of which is going to student scholarships “greatly aids us in taking this important step on behalf of students and affordability.”