WASHINGTON - Dozens of students at the University of the District of Columbia are gathered overnight on campus to protest sweeping proposals from UDC President, Allen Sessoms.

The open-door policy for four-year students would end and their tuition would rise from the current $3,800 annually to $7,000.

President Sessoms wants to create a community college for students interested in obtaining a certificate or Associate Degree. The community college would be open to all students and would cost about $800 less than the current UDC annual tuition.

Jackie Boynton, UDC Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications, told FOX 5 the changes are designed to give the school more prestige. “We have improvements to our physical plant that need to be made, we need state of the art technology, we need better labs, we need a robust research faculty. All of those things take time as well as money,” Boynton said.

Protesters have built a tent city on campus where many students will sleep overnight. An 11am rally is scheduled before students march to the Board of Trustees Committee meeting in the UDC auditorium at noon.

The Committee is scheduled to make an initial decision Wednesday afternoon. A full Board vote will be set the following