Board of Trustees approves 1 percent increase in tuition

Student fees for the upcoming school year will total $49,069, up from $48,580. The University’s tuition and room and board costs for the current academic year are already slightly lower than those of many of its peer institutions, including both Harvard and Yale.

The lasting impacts of the recession, the University endowment’s 14.7 percent returns last fiscal year and the $48.9 million raised through the 2009-10 Annual Giving campaign were all factors in the decision, Provost Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said.

“The committee and the trustees realized that many people in the United States were still affected by the lingering effects of the recession,” Eisgruber said in an interview. “We believed that it was both possible and appropriate to show special sensitivity this year to the needs and interests of tuition paying families.”

The Priorities Committee — a group consisting of 17 faculty members, staff members and students — submitted the proposed budget to the University Board of Trustees earlier this month. The trustees approved the budget at their meeting on Saturday.

Jared Crooks ’11, one of four undergraduate members of the committee, said it was “extremely easy” to agree on the 1 percent increase in light of the University’s improved financial position and its generous financial aid policy.

The budget allotted for the financial aid program will remain at roughly $110 million, which will allow the University to meet the full need of admitted students without requiring loans.

The average financial aid grant for the 2010-2011 school year was roughly $36,000, which is expected to stay at similar levels for fiscal year 2012. Roughly 60 percent of the classes of 2013 and 2014 receive financial aid, and financial aid levels for the Class of 2015 are expected to remain the same.

The trustees approved an operating budget of $1.45 billion, up from $1.36 billion, for the 2011-12 academic year. The University also restored its salary pools to higher levels with the goal of attracting and retaining talented faculty and staff members.

Still, the Priorities Committee report emphasized that the University’s financial security has not yet been restored to pre-recession levels.

“The University’s budget circumstances remain tightly constrained,” the report stated. “This year’s projections underscored that the University has not yet fully recovered from the recent recession.”

Both Eisgruber and Catherine Che ’11, another undergraduate member of the committee, said that budgetary discipline and fiscal constraints will be major concerns for years to come.

Next year’s budget will also include $500,000 in funds for specific projects, including the addition of two full-time staff members to the Office of Career Services and a full-time staff member to the Office of Human Resources to provide training for University employees.