The total costs for undergraduate students will increase by $2,081 next year, the second highest dollar amount hike in the history of Northwestern, NU administrators said Tuesday.
The Board of Trustees unanimously voted Saturday to approve the 5.3 percent increase in tuition, fees, room and board, raising costs to $41,663 from this year’s $39,582, according to a press release issued Tuesday. Tuition and fees will increase by 5.7 percent to $31,789 from $30,085 .
The augmented costs will contribute to salary and benefit raises for NU faculty and staff, maintenance of the financial aid system and utility prices for on-campus housing in the coming year, said Eugene Sunshine, senior vice president for business and finance.
"It’s the nature of our business to have very high labor costs, such as faculty and staff salaries," Sunshine said.
The raise also accounts for a significant projected increase in the price of utilities such as natural gas and water.
Room and board rates will increase to $9,874 from $9,497, a difference of 4 percent for an on-campus student living in a double room and choosing a 19-meal-per-week plan.
Administrators estimated expenditures and revenues for next year and used the resulting analysis to calculate the undergraduate cost increase.
Officials will adjust the total amount of financial aid given in proportion to the increase in tuition, Sunshine said.
The university currently provides about $60 million in financial aid to students.
"Financial aid is a very big expenditure for us," Sunshine said.
The increase in tuition cost is not particularly unusual, Sunshine said. However, administrators are aware of how parents and students will react to this change.
"We are certainly cognizant of the fact that people look at the percentage and react to it," Sunshine said.
The cost increase usually is determined well before Fall Quarter tuition is due so that families can plan for the upcoming year, said University President Henry Bienen. Bienen was part of the budget-planning committee that approved the cost increase.
The Board of Trustees also voted to increase tuition for NU’s graduate school by 5.7 percent to $31,644 next year.
Law school tuition will increase by 6.2 percent and Feinberg School of Medicine tuition will increase by 3 percent.
The percentages differ because the professional schools have varying expenditure and revenue estimates for next year. Also, administrators consider tuition trends at other schools, keeping NU competitive with its peers.
The tuition increase for the Kellogg School of Management will be announced later this year because Kellogg needs more time to assess revenues and expenditures, Sunshine said.
Last year, NU’s undergraduate cost increase was "comparable" with that of 16 peer institutions — including Ivy League schools, the University of Chicago, Duke, Stanford and Washington University in St. Louis, said Alan Cubbage, vice president for university relations.
Tuition increases for the 2004-05 academic year ranged from 7 percent to 4.5 percent.
Incoming students in 1998 had the highest dollar amount increase when tuition increased by $3,200. In 1998, tuition for returning students rose, but at a lower rate.
Reach Ashima Singal at [email protected].
