The overall tuition for the 2016-17 academic year will see an increase of 3.4 percent, Boston University President Robert Brown announced Friday in an email to the BU community.
This is the lowest percentage in tuition increase BU has seen in 20 years, according to the email. The overall increase is a 3.7 percent rise in tuition and a 2.4 percent rise in room and board, set by the BU Board of Trustees at $50,240 and $14,870 respectively. The average tuition increase over the past five years was 3.8 percent.
Students will also see a $50 rise in the health and wellness fee in order to expand the number of behavioral health professionals in Student Health Services, the email stated.
Brown wrote that “competitive increases in salaries and benefit costs, continued investment in our academic programs and facilities, and overall expenses associated with running our physical plant” were some of the factors contributing to the higher tuition rate.
BU also expects to offer approximately $230 million in undergraduate financial aid to roughly 50 percent of the undergraduate population, Brown wrote. This translates to more than 7,600 students.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the university is aware of the investment students and parents make to pay for college, and he commended the expected financial aid as “tremendous institutional support” for students.
“[The letter] shows that the senior administration works very hard to keep tuition increases as low as possible,” Riley said. “It’s a very challenging thing as they continue to provide quality education and improve the facilities, classrooms and laboratories in the university.”
