Increase ahead for College tuition, term bill

The University of Chicago's College tuition for 1996-97 will be $20,970. The total "term bill," which also includes average room and board charges of $7,038 and fees totaling $330 for health services and student activities, will be $28,338. The 1996-97 term bill is 5.2 percent greater than in 1995-96.

The University has also budgeted $28.4 million of its own funds for scholarships to College students in 1996-97, compared with $25.5 million for 1995-96.

In the current year, 57 percent of Chicago's undergraduates receive need-based scholarships that reduce the cost of their education. The average scholarship support for those students this year is $13,162, of which 82 percent comes directly from the University.

In announcing the 1996-97 fees, University President Hugo Sonnenschein noted that students at the University of Chicago receive an education that is recognized as one of the very best in the nation. For example, the National Research Council recently ranked the University's faculty among the top five in the nation for graduate teaching and research. Most of Chicago's faculty members also teach College students, and they do so in the small classes with close student-faculty interaction for which Chicago is famous.

"College students at Chicago receive an education that is second to none," Sonnenschein said. "We have an unsurpassed faculty with whom our students can work closely, and a century-long commitment to the very highest quality teaching.

"It is no accident that economist Robert Lucas, who won the Nobel Prize just last fall, is both a graduate of the College and currently the Chairman of our College economics program," he added. "That synergy of research and commitment to teaching College students is what Chicago is all about."

The University will also continue its policy of admitting the most qualified College applicants regardless of their ability to pay and then meeting their full financial need. Chicago has a long history of educating first-generation college students and consistently leads among elite universities in the percentage of its students who receive financial aid.

To keep the costs of education as low as possible, the University continues to reduce its expenses by increasing efficiency in both instructional and administrative areas. One result of this work is a reduction over the last two years of $7.5 million in annual administrative costs. Over the next two years, annual administrative costs will decline by another $5.3 million, for a total annual reduction of $12.8 million.