A Penn education just got pricier.
Next academic year, tuition, fees and housing will average $43,960, up from $41,766 this year.
The 5.25 percent increase was approved at yesterday's meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee of the University Board of Trustees.
It is similar to last year's 5.4 percent increase.
Tuition at private four-year colleges and universities across the nation is growing at a similar rate. According to the College Board's latest report, these schools averaged a 5.9 percent increase in tuition in 2005.
The cost of a Penn education remains comparable to those of other elite schools. Yale University's equivalent figure was $43,700 this year, and Dartmouth plans to raise its tuition to $43,341 next year.
Despite the rising cost, University officials don't expect annual cost increases to continue to be in the 5-percent range.
Over the past decade, tuition has gone up an average of 4.5 percent each year, Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli said.
"We're experiencing [financial] pressures at this point," he added.
Although this tuition increase will go toward a growing operating budget -- which covers the University's day-to-day expenses -- Penn President Amy Gutmann praised Carnaroli for managing to find ways to keep spending down.
"We've made significant savings over the last year," Gutmann said.
Other factors behind the decision to increase total undergraduate charges include increases in energy and public-safety costs, Carnaroli added. Retaining prominent faculty members and improving housing facilities are also big factors, he said.
Average room and board charges for two semesters at Penn will be $9,804 -- a 4.3 percent increase from this year.
Carnaroli said that Penn needs to compensate for its urban location, but this cost is almost three times that of living at Providence's Brown University -- which charges $3,298 for housing per year. Even living on campus at Columbia University in New York costs at most $6,756.
Officials added that Penn will continue to accept applicants based on academic potential, not ability to pay, as the Ivy League requires.
Penn will also maintain its policy of meeting the full demonstrated need of students, officials said.
