University bucks trend, keeps tuition hike below national average

In the United States last year, the average four-year private college's tuition increased by 5.2 percent. Princeton students, however, purchased their Tiger stripes at what some administrators view as a bargain price, with this year at Old Nassau costing only 3.4 percent more than last.

This 3.4-percent increase even falls below the national inflation rate of 3.5 percent, which sometimes serves as a guideline for universities as they plan future tuition rates.

According to Provost Jeremiah Ostriker, this year's relatively small increase was part of a continued effort by the University to limit tuition growth.

"Every year it's a matter of priorities, and it is the trustees who ultimately enjoin upon us the responsibility of keeping tuition low," he said. "All the parties involved — trustees, faculty, students — think it's important to try to bring [the cost of attending the University] as close as possible to family income averages."

Ostriker said the decision to keep the tuition increase under the inflation rate creates a tradeoff. Because the University will not take money from its savings or from its endowment — now nearly $8 billion — to offset the reduced tuition income, other programs may be affected instead.

Ostriker said that the University could have used the money taken in through increased tuition in a variety of ways. "It could have spent it on salaries or the many other things that come to us as recommendations," he said.

Ostriker also noted that tuition revenues pay for only part of a Princeton student's education. The difference is covered by the endowment and miscellaneous grants the University receives.

Each year, the Priorities Committee determines the cost of tuition. PriCom — which comprises students, faculty and administrators — is a subcommittee of the U-Council.

The U-Council hears budget proposals from departments and writes an annual report detailing which proposals members believe should be granted. It then submits the report to President Shapiro for approval and finally passes it on to the University Board of Trustees.

"The Priorities Committee has had to make some difficult choices among worthy proposals," said Associate Provost Joann Mitchell. "Keeping tuition affordable has received high attention and unanimous support from the Committee."

This year's minimal tuition increase is only one chapter in the University's effort to make Princeton more affordable.

The University also has increased financial aid steadily during the past several years, Ostriker said.

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And last year, PriCom decided to end the University's policy of weighing a student's outside scholarships when calculating his or her financial aid package.

Mitchell said she believes Princeton's combined goal of making education costs more manageable and financial aid funds more plentiful has influenced other colleges and universities.

"The combination has made an affordable education available for students here and at other institutions," Mitchell said. "By virtue of the fact that the Priorities Committee gets its report out in January, and publishes its tuition, other people have followed that lead."

Mitchell pointed to Princeton's online financial aid estimator — an Internet service that calculates the approximate amount of financial aid for which a user might qualify — as another example of the University's leadership role in college-level financial aid.

Other universities sometimes direct applicants to use Princeton's financial aid estimator, she said.

Mitchell said she and other PriCom members are proud of the University's efforts to make itself more financially accessible to all applicants.

"It's something that we do that we can really feel good about," she said.