Tufts announced preliminary figures that show that the annual cost of studying and living at the university will rise by nearly four percent to $61,000 next semester.
The Board of Trustees proposed the increase during their February meeting and will meet again in May to discuss approval of the costs, according to Executive Vice President Patricia Campbell. If approved, the budget will be in place for the upcoming fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.
The planned increases will make Tufts the first Boston area institution of higher education to charge students more than $60,000 for tuition, room, board and other mandatory fees, according to a Feb. 25 Boston Globe article. This will mean that Tufts tuition costs will be second only to Amherst College -- which costs $61,443 per year -- in Massachusetts, although most other schools have yet to announce their tuition estimates for next year.
This is not a place that Tufts wants to be a leader ... but we can see trends that have been in the costs at other institutions and know that were not likely to be an outlier, Campbell said.
Campbell said that because Tufts is a complicated organization, there are a myriad of reasons for the increases in expenses.
Higher education here and everywhere is very labor-intensive, Campbell said. Most of our expenses in our budgets have to do with the cost of our employees, faculties or staff.
If we want to stay competitive in an employment market -- to attract and retain the best faculty, we have to compensate them in a way that makes them competitive.
Campbell also cited many unavoidable administrative costs and compliance mandates for the increase in tuition costs.
Having a large residential community means we do also spend a lot of money on building maintenance, energy and security, she said.
Campbell added that there are many fees associated with compliance with federal and state laws or regulations. One example is background checks that need to be run on minors who work at places such as the Tufts Educational Day Care Center, or who are involved with child development.
To address the greater financial burden on students, financial aid will become an increased focus for the university, according to Campbell.
We will see a percentage increase in financial aid that will be larger than in recent years, Campbell said. The university has been engaged in a targeted fundraising campaign to attract additional donations that are specifically given to support financial aid.
The campaign had hoped to raise $25 million and contributions exceeded that goal, according to Campbell.
We are taking a comprehensive look at administrative costs to see if there are opportunities to streamline administration in the university, she said.
According to Campbell, the university is working on projects, including a new energy master plan, to better support its services in the least expensive way.
We wanted to be honest in terms of sharing information, which is why we are one of the first schools to have [tuition] estimates ... these are only estimates at this point, which is one thing to keep in mind, Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler said. But thats one reason why were out there right now. Were aware of concerns, trying to meet them and we have a great financial aid package, and thats important for prospective students.
Early decision and regular decision applicants to Tufts all receive the tuition estimates, Thurler said.
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin said he does not expect the proposed tuition increase to affect application numbers.
I suspect our official costs for 2014-15 will align with our peer schools announced costs, so I do not foresee any impact on that score, Coffin told the Daily in an email. The financial resources for [fiscal year 2014-15] are also undetermined at this point, but I know the trustees are committed to preserving access to Tufts for students with need and, as always, that is one of my foremost priorities.
Campbell agreed and said that she suspected that tuition costs would not have an impact on admissions.
That doesn't mean that we are not concerned about the cost, Campbell said. Our goal is to maintain our quality, maintain the activities and environment that make Tufts truly excellent and attractive to students, and also minimize the cost to the extent we can.
