Including room and board, the total price tag for Penn will go up 3.7 percent next year, the lowest increase in 31 years. The University Board of Trustees approved a 3.7 percent increase in total student charges for the upcoming academic year yesterday -- meaning that at $31,592, Penn will offer the Ivy League's least expensive education. The cost increases at Penn fall well within the range of increases among its peer institutions and is the University's smallest in 31 years. At an Executive Committee meeting yesterday, the Trustees approved a 4.2 percent increase in undergraduate tuition, raising rates from $23,524 to $24,230. Additionally, room and board costs will increase 2.2 percent, from $7,206 to $7,362. "This maintains our commitment to limit the rate of increase for both tuition and total charges for our undergraduates at Penn," University President Judith Rodin said. Across the Ivy League, undergraduate charge increases range from a 2.9 percent increase at Yale University to a 4 percent increase at Cornell University. Columbia University is the only Ivy that has not announced next year's charges. Rodin noted that the 3.7 percent increase in total charges -- slightly lower than last year's 3.9 percent increase -- reflects Penn's desire to increase student costs at the lowest possible rate. Although the 3.7 percent increase is higher than the current 1.6 percent inflation rate, officials explained that the increases relate directly to the rise in operating costs at the University. Budget Director Mike Masch explained that "as the campus becomes bigger and more complex, the operating costs of running it goes up." Additionally, Executive Vice President John Fry said the University is "focused on trying to keep [tuition] increases at a minimum amount." He added that the administration must budget carefully due to the many financial demands of the institution. "There's a huge amount of pressure on the University to be as cost-effective as possible," Fry said. Masch explained that tuition and fees make up 69 percent of Penn's "core academic budget," which funds academic planning and programming such as ongoing capital projects, technology development and faculty recruiting and retention. Tuition revenue is an important source of funding for the University because Penn does not annually spend a large proportion of its $3.04 billion endowment. "We spend out of endowment at a justifiable rate based on long term trends," said Masch. Over the past year, several of Penn's peer institutions have increased endowment contributions toward their operating budgets, benefitting programs such as undergraduate financial aid. But Penn, with the lowest endowment in the Ivy League on a per student basis, has not taken similar steps. "For any student that meets admission requirements, we will offer a financial aid package that will make it possible to attend here," Masch said. Though the cost continues to increase, students noted that a Penn education is a valuable asset for the future. "The reason my parents pay the money they do is because they believe it is an investment," Wharton freshman Amin Nafeez said.
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