well it's gonna cost you more to attend New Jersey's Flagship University the Rutgers Board of Governors today unanimously approved a six percent tuition hike along with increases on the cost for housing dining and other fees the vote comes as lawmakers recently approved a new state budget adding roughly 33 million dollars in state aid to help Rutgers cover increased costs associated with new Union contracts but the board today insisted higher tuition rates will be offset by more financial aid available to students and that wasn't the only controversial item on the docket the board also approved the merger of its Newark and New Brunswick Medical Schools despite objections from some powerful County state and union leaders senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has the story all in favor hi with the unanimous vote during a virtual meeting Rutgers Board of Governors approved creating the Rucker school of medicine it's a merger combining the RWJ medical school in New Brunswick with the New Jersey medical school in Newark it aims to create a larger school with a single accreditation according to Chancellor Brian Strom combining the two schools gives more opportunities it's not the class sizes are not going to change the faculty component is not going to shrink it's only going to increase so the student to faculty ratio isn't going to get worse the clinical facilities are not going to decrease in the process strong promise Newark would not be ignored but the online vote followed vehement public dissent from doctors students teachers and community members who cited a 2012 New Jersey law that requires the two medical schools must serve their respective communities plus the 1968 Newark Accords also requires that University Hospital Hospital provide critical Health Care in the city and its suffering doctors say we don't have the staff or support in terms of residents and tendings and nurses that we so desperately need in Newark the merger of the medical schools will hurt and not help people in newer the merger would weaken University Hospital the only public Hospital in the state of New Jersey where Health Services were made available to all regardless of affordability there has been consistent and overwhelming opposition to this merger by our clinical and basic science faculty those who have the most direct understanding of the impact such a merger will have on our students residents fellows faculty patients and our respective communities legislators from the 29th District in Essex County sent a letter asking the board to postpone their vote and the union representing Rutgers doctors asked Jersey's attorney general to investigate the merger according to spokesman diatsurus the Board of Governors votes to do this effectively changing something that's had a 50-year history of being separate and has deep commitments to their respective communities even though overwhelming numbers of Faculty residents students the NAACP other groups I mean that they've all unanimously were against this and it really begs the question of who is this board serving if it's not serving the students and faculty and patients he says the unions exploring legal options meanwhile the Rutgers board today also voted unanimously on a new fiscal year 2023-24 5.4 billion dollar budget that kicks up the costs for students it'll boost tuitions and fees by six percent room rates by five percent and dining costs by seven percent it adds up to an additional 387 bucks per semester in tuition and fees Jersey's former NAACP president opposed the increases tuition and fees are much too high in the state of New Jersey one of the wealthiest states in the United States of America the best way to reduce the burden of student debt is to reduce the cost of Education in the first place Rucker says it'll boost financial aid to help keep it affordable the vote followed an unprecedented week-long strike by Rutgers faculty that earned staff salary and benefit increases but raised costs for the University by a hundred and eighty four million dollars over the next four years New Jersey did kick in more state aid as promised by Governor Murphy but Rutgers is still running a 77 million dollar deficit I'm Brenda Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight news