In an effort to boost enrollment and grow Vermont’s workforce, the University of Vermont is expanding tuition breaks for New England students who major in certain fields.

Beginning next fall, eligible first-year and transfer students from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island can save more than 35% on UVM’s standard out-of-state tuition by enrolling in one of 31 select majors, the university announced earlier this month. These students will pay an estimated tuition rate of $30,240, which officials say reflects a discount of more than $18,000 a year.

“Our strategy is to continue to make our world class education more affordable, and that’s something that we think about every single year,” said Jay Jacobs, UVM’s vice president for enrollment management.

Nearly one-third of the university’s majors are included in the Regional Tuition Break program, including every major offered by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Education and Social Services and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

Agriculture and life sciences make up large aspects of the state’s economy, while the education sector is continually in need of more teachers, Jacobs said. He added that when university officials decided which majors to include in the tuition break, they placed specific emphasis on preparing students to enter Vermont’s workforce.

Vermont has critical workforce needs, an aging population and a shortage of educators, social workers, counselors and other professionals working in human services, said Katie Shepherd, UVM’s Dean of the College of Education and Social Services.

“When we can emphasize that we are preparing students for the workforce … we’re preparing students for places where there are lots of jobs, and then we’re supporting them well,” Shepherd said. “If you put all those things together, it will really make a difference.”

The announcement of the Regional Tuition Break program came shortly after the university announced it’s expanding access to the UVM Promise, its zero-tuition program for Vermont residents.

Starting fall 2027, all admitted students from Vermont households with a combined annual income of up to $125,000 — an increase from $100,000 last year — can attend UVM tuition-free.

“We want to tackle affordability head on,” Jacobs said. “And so we hope to see enrollment growth because of these two programs and continued increased demand in the University of Vermont education.”

The university had forecasted a decline in freshman and undergraduate enrollment for this year.

The university’s deadline for students to add, drop, pass/no pass and audit classes is next Monday, and UVM will complete its census and achieve clarity on exact enrollment figures for the current fall semester by the end of next week, according to Jacobs.

So far, he said he’s feeling “really energized” by the new students who came to campus this year.

“They are academically qualified, they are diverse in the broadest sense of the word diversity, and they will make an impact on the world. They will make an impact on the state, and they will definitely make an impact on our community, both on campus and in Burlington,” Jacobs said.

Green Mountain Power customers will face an electricity rate increase, but not as large as the utility originally sought, after Vermont officials reduced the request amid objections from residents already dealing with higher living costs.

Vermont’s Public Utility Commission set the increase at 5.5% for the company’s more than 275,000 customers, down from the requested 7.5%. The new rates begin Oct. 1, according to VTDigger.

Here’s what to know

Before issuing the decision, regulators spent months reviewing Green Mountain Power’s spending plans and considering whether Vermont households should bear those costs. 

More than 50 public comments were largely critical of the original proposal.

In its Aug. 28 order, the three-member commission said most of the requested hike stemmed from factors “largely outside GMP’s control,” VTDigger reported.

The order cited regional increases in electricity supply and transmission expenses, along with inflation, as pressures affecting utilities across Vermont.

Still, the commission did not approve everything the company sought.

A major flashpoint was “resilience spending,” the utility’s proposal to dedicate roughly $341 million over four years to projects aimed at reducing long-term weather damage to the grid.

They authorized about $113 million instead, saying a need to harden the system had to be weighed against what customers can afford. 

The panel wrote that there was “no dispute that Vermont’s climate is changing,” but said affordability was “central to our analysis.”

More background

Kristin Carlson, a spokesperson for Green Mountain Power, claimed the utility considers those resilience projects necessary, per VTDigger. 

“Storms are increasing in frequency and severity — Vermonters are feeling it,” Carlson asserted. “The goal is to deliver projects that keep customers with their lights on, keep them safer and then over time lower storm restoration costs.”

In 2024, the company was approved for roughly $150 million over the following two years for projects including burying power lines and strengthening electric networks. Carlson said those improvements have already reduced outages and delivered savings over time.

But customers facing unavoidable utility bills pushed back. In a written statement to regulators, Janice McCann described an unmanageable cost of living. 

“I cannot afford taxes, utilities, insurance and food anymore,” she said, per VTDigger. “Something has to give. Please consider the less fortunate people in Vermont.” 

Another resident, John Tatro, pointed to a lack of consumer options. 

“We do not have a choice in power companies to our location so there is no competition,” he observed, per VTDigger.

What’s being done?

The commission approved part of the spending for grid reliability improvements while limiting how much of the cost customers must absorb immediately.

VTDigger reported that the approved funding is expected to pay for work on Green Mountain Power’s 10 worst-performing circuits over four years.

Electric departments in Swanton, Hyde Park, and Jacksonville have asked for increases of about 30%, 15%, and 18%, respectively. 

Vermont residents are also facing pressure from high, volatile heating oil prices and concerns about gasoline costs.

Where can I learn more?

Similar debates are unfolding across the country as customers push back on rising bills and regulators try to balance reliability with affordability.

• Across the U.S., utilities are seeking record-breaking rate hike requests as household energy costs climb.

• In West Virginia, Appalachian Power customers challenged an experimental rate hike as affordability concerns deepen.

• In Virginia, Dominion Energy faces a controversial rate hike request linked to data center growth.

• In the West, PacifiCorp sought approval to bill customers for wildfire damages totaling $1.7 billion.

Disputes in those states echo the tense questions playing out in Vermont: how much customers should pay for grid upgrades and other mounting utility costs. That scrutiny is growing as electric bills rise.

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