Student and faculty unions at University of Massachusetts Boston are forming a coalition to strengthen union activism on campus and defend the school’s urban mission in light of tuition hikes and budget cuts made over the summer, union officials said.

“This particular coalition has been strengthened by the response to cuts and tuition hikes,” said Joe Ramsey, a member of the Faculty Staff Union. “We anticipate students will come back — many upset and personally hurt by tuition increases and confused as to why certain professors are not around. We think we need to educate and rally support against cuts and future cuts.”

In the fall, the “Save UMB” group plans to continue its activism by picketing UMass Board of Trustees meetings and highlighting the issues in the student arts journal, The Watermark, as it seeks a louder voice and to stem cost jumps and cuts.

“We read articles about the higher-ups and basketball coaches at UMB receiving raises. We watch the shiny new buildings go up around campus, where construction noises have become the backdrop to our education. Plainly: It sucks,” said Katie Baima, a senior and English major.

The increased activism comes after UMass Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition across its five-campus system by an average 5.8 percent in light of a $85 million shortfall and $3.5 million reduction in state aid.

At the Boston campus, students and teachers were rocked in June when almost 400 adjunct professors received pink slips as the school sought to stave off budget woes.

University officials say most teachers will be rehired, but union leaders said they still await news — anticipated to be announced next week — on which teachers will get their jobs back.

Students and professors argue the problem is a systemic underfunding of higher education in Massachusetts while costs rise. They pointed to a 2013 report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center that says Massachusetts cut higher education by 31 percent compared with a national average of 10 percent between 2001 and 2013.