Harvard, UMass unveil tuition hikes
New rates won't outpace inflation
Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts system announced relatively modest tuition increases yesterday, welcome news to students and parents who have grown accustomed to hikes that outpaced inflation.
Harvard said it would raise tuition 3.5 percent for the next academic year, while also increasing its need-based financial aid budget to $125 million, a 21 percent jump. The cost of tuition, room and board, and student fees will be $47,215.
Harvard officials said the increase ranked among its smallest in the past decade; for the previous two academic years, tuition rose 3.9 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. The officials also said that need-based grants would reduce the average cost for students on financial aid to an estimated $10,500 per year. About half of Harvard undergraduates receive need-based assistance.
"We want to encourage talented students from all economic backgrounds to pursue a Harvard education without incurring huge financial burdens," Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the UMass Board of Trustees approved a 3.1 percent increase in student charges for the next academic year, raising the average cost at the system's four undergraduate universities for in-state students by $288, from $9,261 to $9,549.
The vote, taken at the board's meeting at UMass-Dartmouth, marks the fifth consecutive year the public system has held tuition and fee increases below the regional inflation rate, currently 3.6 percent. It affirms the recommendation earlier this month by the board's administration and finance committee.
"These efforts, combined with our success in increasing student financial aid, continue to make academic excellence affordable for Massachusetts students and their families," UMass president Jack M. Wilson said in a statement.
One-fifth of the increase will be directed to financial aid to offset the increase for students in need.
Over the past five years, the cost of attending public universities nationally has risen an average of nearly 7 percent annually, while the cost of attending UMass has risen just 3.4 percent annually, UMass officials said.
The vote sets tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students at $10,232 at UMass-Amherst, $9,111 at UMass-Boston, $8,858 at UMass-Dartmouth, and $9,006 at UMass-Lowell.
Wilson also said that the system has increased its financial aid budget by more than $50 million over the past five years, to $85 million. Wealthier colleges have also sharply expanded financial aid in recent months, amid pressure from Congress to offset rising college costs.
In December, Harvard announced a sweeping financial aid policy that sharply reduced the amount families with an income below $180,000 are expected to pay. Families with an income below $60,000 will not be asked to contribute.
Yale University announced in January that it would cut its average cost for students with financial need by more than half and eliminate tuition for families earning less than $60,000 per year. Dartmouth eliminated tuition for families who earn less than $75,000.
Last month, Stanford University announced it would waive tuition for students whose families earn less than $100,000 a year and eliminate room and board fees for students whose families earn less than $60,000 a year. This month, MIT waived tuition and eliminated loans for students whose families earn less than $75,000 a year.
