Connecticut University Students Plan Rallies This Week

Students at two of the schools in Connecticut's state university system, Central and Western Connecticut state universities, held a rally on Monday and plan another one for Wednesday to protest tuition hikes at their colleges.

The students also are demanding that the state increase the state universities' representation on Connecticut's Board of Regents for Higher Education, according to a report in the Hartford Courant.

The move comes as officials and professors at the four state universities, Eastern, Western, Southern and Central, have begun questioning whether the state is short-changing the university system and giving more money and attention to Connecticut's flagship university, the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

At a time when the state's budget is tight, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has proposed investing $1.5 billion in "Next Generation Connecticut," a program that will increase enrollment, bring in new faculty, and improve the infrastructure at the University of Connecticut's six campuses, particularly at the flagship Storrs campus.

The state university system — 17 colleges and universities governed by the Board of Regents — isn't seeing that same kind of investment. In fact, the system had to implement a hiring freeze and has proposed a tuition hike for next year.

The students will rally at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Western Connecticut State University.