But Katsouleas was frequently frustrated by high labor costs at UConn, linked to the state’s chronic underfunding of pension and health care benefits, and said the university was losing out on research grants because of them.
Are our labor costs higher due to past underfunding or because the legislature mandates higher than market wages as a matter of public policy? We've seen that with the stadia build out. UConn's new hockey arena is more expensive and has lower capacity than arenas at private institutions because of it. In any event if it is causing us to lose grants the legislature needs to create an except for public research projects. UConn could be an engine of development for the state if can be competitive for grants. That was the whole idea behind the tech campus.
Like colleges and universities across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic put a strain on UConn’s finances. A free tuition program for students from low-income families was halted, and administrators reached out to the General Assembly for tens of millions in extra financial help.
In my opinion this program was always a bit of bad fit at the state's flagship university, though providing access to higher learning for low income families is a laudable and appropriate state goal. Note that UConn already has many programs to do just that. How New Jersey addresses it with the "Stars" program. Good students can attend county colleges for free and, if they maintain a sufficient GPA, can attend Rutgers at no cost in their junior and senior years. That is more cost efficient since it doesn't require room and board costs and the tuition cost of the county colleges are much cheaper than the four year schools. The Katsouleas plan is one of those ideas than sound great, but are ill-considered.
