Tuition hike will push cost of attending U. of I. past $20,000 for new undergrads this fall

For the first time, new undergraduates at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this fall will have to shell out more than $20,000 to attend the state’s flagship university.

The costâ??the highest for any public school in the stateâ??includes nearly $12,000 in base tuition and fees and more than $8,000 in room and board. The university’s Board of Trustees approved the increase Wednesday. Tuition for the typical new freshman will increase 9.5 percent to $9,242, an amount guaranteed for four years.