Worcester Polytechnic Institute announced it will increase undergraduate tuition and fees by 3.4%, to $38,700, for the 2010-11 academic year. Last year's 2.9% increase was the lowest percentage increase at WPI in nearly 20 years, and considerably lower than the U.S. average of 4.4%. WPI has maintained a "frost" on staff positions, replacing departing staff or adding new positions only in the most strategically critical areas. For more, click here.

One of the two towers that comprise the hotel and conference center at the University of New Hampshire, known as the New England Center, will become housing for more than 170 students. UNH announced last summer that the hotel, conference center and restaurant would close in June 2010 for financial reasons. Turning the center into a dorm called “Adams Tower West” offers a financial solution for the university while preserving the building that had been named to the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s “Seven to Save List" of state landmarks. For more, click here.

At the March 17 meeting of the Connecticut Department of Higher Education, Commissioner Michael Meotti and Associate Director Mark French demonstrated a new online financial literacy game, called Who Wants to Be Financially Responsible? The interactive course, found at flip.ctdhe.org, designed to help young adults become more confident in managing financial matters, is a collaborative effort by the department, Connecticut Public Broadcasting, the University of Connecticut and other colleges is supported by funds from a settlement between the Connecticut Department of Banking and UBS PaineWebber. The Department of Higher Education will urge colleges to include the program in first-year experience classes. For more, click here.