Dartmouth’s 2.9 percent increase in tuition for the 2015-2016 academic year — consistent with last year’s increase and the lowest since 1977 — reflects College President Phil Hanlon’s mission to slow the growth of the cost of a Dartmouth education, administrators report. The slowed cost is in line with national trends, according to experts.
Dean of admissions and financial aid Maria Laskaris said that since Hanlon began his tenure he has emphasized the importance of affordability and the cost of higher education.
“I think it sends a really strong message that we are committed to controlling costs for families,” Laskaris said.
She said that families are becoming increasingly concerned with the rising costs of education. Laskaris noted that 2.9 percent increase for the past two years conveys to prospective students that the College is committed to moderating the increase of tuition.
“It sends a very important message as we seek to recruit the Classes of 2020 and beyond,” Laskaris said.
Total tuition, room, board and mandatory feesfor the 2015-16 academic year will be $63,744. Of the Ivies that have reported tuition for the upcoming year, Dartmouth’s tuition is increasing by the smallest amount. Yale University increased their undergraduate tuition for the upcoming year by four percent. Brown University increased their undergraduate tuition by 4.4 percent, while Cornell University, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania all increased their undergraduate tuition by 3.9 percent.
Laskaris said the financial aid budget has been increased by 6.6 percent to just under $89 million for the upcoming academic year.
Director of financial aid Virginia Hazen said that the increase in the budget for financial aid for this upcoming year does not bring about any significant changes in the College’s financial aid policy.
Hazen said that the increase means that the College will have sufficient funds to remain need blind while reviewing applications. The College is committed to meeting 100 percent of students’ financial needs for all of the four years that they are on campus, and this has not been changed by the increase, she said.
“If they didn’t increase the budget, then something would have had to change,” Hazen added.
Center for College Affordability and Productivity director Richard Vedder said that the actual amount that each student is paying for tuition depends on how much financial aid increases alongside the tuition increase.
He said that if financial aid increases by a significant amount, the tuition increase would not be as large for students because their needs will still be met, especially at institutions like Dartmouth with generous financial aid programs.
While Vedder said that Dartmouth’s 2.9 percent increase is lower than average, he noted that other schools are also lowering their rates and slowing their tuition growth.
“What Dartmouth is doing is consistent with what’s happening nationally,” he added.
“Schools that a few years ago were increasing tuition by four, five or six percent a year, are now raising them in the three percent range, so Dartmouth is following that trend,” Vedder said.
He said that tuition increases have slowed in part because demand for higher education has not been increasing, adding that this has been a more significant trend at public universities.
He added that Dartmouth has not seen a significant decrease in applications this year that could have caused the College to slow the rise in cost.
“In general the Ivies and the elite private liberal arts colleges are doing pretty well in terms of applications,” he said.
As a result, these institutions can be more aggressive in raising fees, Vedder said.
He said, however, that it is still wise for schools to moderate their tuition increases, so that their application rates as well as the quality of the students they admit does not diminish.
Vedder said that contributing to the increase in college tuition is the fact that it is common for students to take out federal loans to pay for their education, which gives institutions more incentive to raise their costs of attendance.
He added that this issue is not as relevant at schools like Dartmouth with need-blind financial aid programs, though it may still apply in some way.
He noted that increased market wages for faculty makes it difficult to decrease costs for students. In addition, Vedder said that as colleges become more than just learning institutions more money gets allocated to areas such as athletics and residential life, to enhance the overall college experience.
Correction appended (March 31, 2015):
The original version of this story stated that tuition for the 2015-16 academic year will be $63,744. The story has been updated to reflect the fact that total tuition, room, board and mandatory feesfor the 2015-16 academic year will be $63,744.
