Should UMass Hike Tuition by 4.9 Percent? [Poll]

If approved, tuition increases proposed by the UMass Board of Trustees could cost the school's in-state students an average of $580, according to the Boston Herald. 

Gov. Deval Patrick wrote a letter of opposition to the board on Tuesday, saying the university should find ways to operate without asking for more from students. 

“Like the rest of state government, UMass must demonstrate that it is doing more with less before asking more from students. And I am not convinced that UMass has yet done enough to find efficiencies and reduce costs so that any new revenue is dedicated to teaching and learning,” Patrick said in his letter to UMass' Board of Trustees. 

But Board of Trustees Chairman James J. Karam asserted that the school has been efficient with funds while building more than $2 billion of construction in the past decade while state funding has dropped $147 million since 2009, according to the Herald. 

What do you think, should UMass increase its tuition costs? Vote in our poll and speak your mind in the comments section below.