Princeton - News - Cost of Undergraduate Education Rises 3.9 Percent For Lowest Rate of Increase in 30 years

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Distributed Jan. 27, 1997

Cost of Undergraduate Education Rises 3.9 Percent For Lowest Rate of Increase in 30 years

Princeton, N.J.--The cost of a Princeton undergraduate education will rise 3.9 percent for 1997-98 (FY98)--the first time in 30 years that the increase has been below 4.0 percent. The increase was proposed by the Princeton committee, known as the Priorities Committee, which makes recommendations each year on the following year's operating budget; endorsed by Princeton President Harold T. Shapiro; and adopted by the University's trustees at their quarterly meeting on Jan. 25.

Princeton traditionally is one of the first colleges or universities in the country to set its tuition and fees for the following academic year.

"This represents a determined effort on our part to restrain the rate at which tuition increases, and to bring the rate of increase more closely into line with increases in family incomes," Shapiro said. "At the same time, we recognize that even with this moderated rate of increase, many of our students will require financial aid. As recommended by the Priorities Committee, the budget includes a continuing commitment to financial aid, which will be sufficient to maintain our policy of admitting students on a need-blind basis and then meeting the full need of all students who qualify for aid."

Provost Jeremiah P. Ostriker, chair of the Priorities Committee, concurred: "We went the extra mile this year to help keep a Princeton education affordable for as many as possible."

The 3.9 percent increase in the cost of a Princeton undergraduate education, from $28,325 in 1996-97 to $29,435 in 1997-98, represents "a substantive decrease from the current year's 4.6%," as the Priorities Committee report points out. Tuition will rise 4.2 percent to $22,920, and room and board will each increase 3.0 percent to $2,987 and $3,528. Allocations for financial aid will increase from $28 million in 1996-97 to $29 million in 1997-98.

The FY98 expected operating budget (excluding the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory) is $502.6 million; it is projected to be in balance.

Tuition for graduate students will rise to $22,920 in 1997-98 from the current year's cost of $22,000. Room and board charges for graduate students will increase on average 3.0 percent.

The recommendations provide for an addition of $193,000 in support of graduate students over the increase determined by the rise in the cost of living. That additional amount is "to be directed specifically toward raising 'prize' stipends for the academically strongest incoming students," according to the Priorities Committee.

Another of the few items in the budget that received support beyond inflationary levels is faculty and staff salaries. The Priorities Committee recommended an addition of $1,052,000 "to the academic and staff salary pools, relative to what last year's Committee had provided for in their projections."

The Priorities Committee reported a disposition among University employees and managers who were interviewed toward tying pay increases more closely to merit. Noting the president's and provost's expectation that the total size of the University staff will decrease somewhat, the report emphasizes that "quality over quantity" would be the prevailing approach to University staffing patterns and therefore stressed the importance "for staff members to be well-compensated for the outstanding service which is expected of them."

In terms of faculty size, the Priorities Committee report noted that there was no intention of decreasing faculty, but that "the faculty will not expand for the foreseeable future (with the exception of a very few positions previously authorized or financed by new revenues)."

Two other increases beyond the rate of inflation directly affect students. Noting the growth of student participation in non-varsity activities, the Priorities Committee recommended a $10,000 increase in the $24,500 current budget for club sports. An addition of $31,000 to Dining Services' budget for a new "Any-14 Meal Plan" will give undergraduates more flexibility to exercise dining options.

"Our ability to restrain the rate of increase in charges, approve a number of new initiatives and still achieve a projected balance was enhanced considerably by our determined efforts last year to achieve savings in many administrative areas and by the extraordinary level of support that alumni are providing to Princeton through Annual Giving and the current anniversary campaign," said Ostriker.

Looking toward the future, the Priorities Committee noted that the University librarian, despite making no specific requests for FY98, had informed the committee of the need to create "a unified, widely accessible electronic catalog rather than the multiple catalogs among which Princeton's holdings are currently divided." The Committee judged this endeavor to be an "extremely important, and costly project," indicating that institutions comparable to Princeton have "spent over $10 million" in developing such a catalog.

In addition to the detailed recommendations for the 1997-98 budget, the Priorities Committee assessed the University's budget outlook over three more fiscal years. The Committee assumed a 3.9 percent rate of increase for tuition and fees and a general inflation rate ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 percent. Their projections indicate a roughly balanced budget for FY99 but the prospect of worsening deficits for FY2000 and 2001, as new facilities currently planned or under construction begin to have an impact on the operating budget, unless revenues increase by more than can prudently be anticipated.