Board of Trustees approves tuition increase

At its Friday, Feb. 4 meeting, the University Board of Trustees approved a 5 percent increase in undergraduate tuition, room and board charges, and student fees for the 2005-2006 academic year.

Financial aid also will be increased to help students and their families meet the increased costs. Fifty-six percent of Chicago students currently receive financial aid, and the average annual grant is about $16,600.

Annual undergraduate tuition at the University, which currently is $30,123, will increase to $31,629 in the academic year beginning this fall. Room and board charges will rise from $9,624 to $10,104, and additional mandatory fees, which include health and wellness and student activity fees, will increase from $606 to $636. The total term bill in the College for 2005-2006 will be $42,369.

Alicia Reyes, Director of the Office of College Aid, said individual aid awards for existing students will be raised to meet the increased charges. Also, all entering undergraduate students who need financial support will receive aid.

The University will continue its policy of not deducting the amount of any scholarship funds an undergraduate receives from outside organizations from his or her University grant award, Reyes said.

According to Michael Behnke, Vice President for University Relations and Dean of College Enrollment, the financial aid available to students is supported in large part through the gifts of alumni.

Those gifts have in recent years also helped the University to substantially improve its resources and facilities through the addition of the Graduate School of Business, the Max Palevsky Residential Commons, Bartlett Dining Hall and the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center. The Center for Integrative Science, formerly known as the Interdivisional Research Building, is under construction and is scheduled for completion this fall.