Trustees approve tuition hike

The University's Board of Trustees unanimously approved a 5.7 percent hike in next year's undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees at their stated meeting Friday. The increase will bring the total bill for undergraduates to $18,856. The Trustees also approved a boost in the cost of graduate and professional education. Graduate students' tuition and fees will total $19,740 next year. Budget and Finance Subcommittee Chairperson Robert Fox said the Trustees intend to maintain reductions in the amount that tuition rises each year to keep tuition as close to the "cost of living" as possible. "There's a real commitment to this on the part of the Trustees," Fox said after he announced the figures. Executive Vice President Janet Hale also reported that the University continues to project a $2 million loss stemming from a loan to the Veterinary School for this fiscal year. Even so, Interim President Claire Fagin said in her opening remarks that she remains "guardedly optimistic" about an anticipated balanced budget for the University by the end of this fiscal year. Hale also announced that the Graduate School of Education and the School of Social Work were projecting unrestricted budget surpluses of $100,000 and $250,000 respectively. The Annenberg Center is projecting a $200,000 deficit, she said, adding that the remaining schools and centers at the University are projecting to break even. The Trustees pushed through several other spending projects at Friday's stated meeting, held in the Faculty Club. In a unanimous vote, the Trustees approved $2.4 million for Phase II of the ResNet program, which will wire High Rise East and High Rise South with PennNet, cable TV and enhanced telecommunications systems. A $7.8 million building plan for the Medical School was also approved Friday. The Med School currently is planning to build a 211,000 square foot biomedical research facility and will use the $7.8 million to fund its design and construction. Trustees also voted to give Franklin Field more money to finance the continuing architectural and engineering projects associated with structural repairs in the stadium's east upper and lower grandstands and their adjoining areas. The rehabilitations at Franklin Field will replace the wooden seats with aluminum benches and repair concrete in the upper and lower decks. In other business, the Trustees also authorized the University to borrow up to $120 million to fund various capital projects. Those projects include repairing the exterior of College Hall and Logan Hall, building the parking facilities at 38th and Walnut streets and constructing the Revlon Center.