Rutgers University is increasing its tuition for the upcoming school year after a year of frozen tuition prices because of all of the hardships that came with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Rutgers University Board of Governors approved a $4.8 billion budget Tuesday following the freeze in tuition and fees from the past year.

Tuition will now be going up 2.6% for the 2021-2022 school year, meaning now a typical in-state, full-time undergraduate at Rutgers University-New Brunswick would be billed $15,804 in combined tuition and mandatory student fees, and a few $100 less at its Camden and Newark campuses.

University President Jonathan Holloway addressed the increase, saying, “This budget allows us to provide what is most important – excellent academic instruction and research opportunities for our students, first-rate patient care and far-reaching public service while keeping cost increases as low as possible following an extremely difficult year unlike any Rutgers has experienced."

According to the university, tuition and fees account for almost 29% of its revenue. Close to 80% of students receive some sort of aid through grants scholarships and loans.