Boston University’s tuition rate will rise 3.7 percent for the 2010-11 academic year, the university announced Wednesday.
Students were informed by an email from BU President Robert Brown that standard tuition would increase from $37,910 per year to $39,314. On top of the housing and dining plan rate hikes of an average 3.5 percent announced last week, the cost of education and basic room and board will be $51,574.
Next year’s tuition increase is less than the previous year’s percentage increase of 3.75 percent, and the smallest percentage increase in 41 years.
Brown justified the increase in his letter to students and parents, citing rising health care costs for those employed by the university and a greater number of students applying for financial aid.
“We have seen a 10 percent rise in the cost of health benefits for our faculty and staff,” he wrote. “There is a nearly 12 percent increase in the number of applicants for financial aid among incoming students, and we have increased our overall financial aid budget by almost six percent.”
Brown said that despite these rising costs and a challenging economic environment, BU was able to keep a tuition hike at a minimum.
“Our efforts to control costs and maintain quality have been successful, especially in contrast to so many universities and colleges that have been forced to eliminate faculty positions and cut programs,” he wrote.
Brown acknowledged in his letter that even a small increase in the cost of a BU education would be painful for some.
“The University leadership and the Trustees recognize that even this moderate tuition increase, which will enable us to avoid making cuts that would compromise the quality of a Boston University education, will place a burden on some of our students and their families,” he wrote. “I assure you that the increase provides the minimum budget needed to support our programs and sustain the quality of the academic experience for our students.”
Brown also previewed initiatives the university will be undertaking in the future, even as it seeks to keep costs down. These ventures include an expansion of wireless Internet across the campus, including in student residences, a project to bring down energy expenses and reduce BU’s impact on the environment and construction of the East Campus Student Center, which will feature a “major new dining facility” and combine the Career Services office with the Educational Resource Center.
“We have made permanent, sustainable cuts in our administrative costs without adversely affecting student services or support for our faculty,” Brown wrote.
