To be fair, the increases are pretty reasonable compared to other B1G increases, though resident tuition is still comparatively high, second only to PSU and far higher than peer universities like Wisconsin or Purdue. This tidbit was interesting:
“Institutional financial aid has more than doubled to about $230 million annually over the last 10 years, and only 35 percent of all in-state undergraduates pay full tuition and fees. Twenty-five percent pay no tuition or fees at all.”
The increase is modest, especially in context of the length of the freeze. Also good to see that the increase will not leave the incoming class feeling like they are bearing the weight of a “catch up” increase. The run of the prior freeze was surprising, given state budget impasses, and the like, and if UIUC stopped any projects mid-stream, it was low-key.
I think they delayed the last phase of the ISR renovation, but I believe that was due to bids and project budgets, rather than university budgets overall. I gather the main hurdle they face is retention of staff and attracting new staff. Also, they used enrollment increases to offset state budget reductions so at some point class sizes and student-to-teacher ratios will be way above average, if not already.