Brown Corporation approves 3.9-percent increase in student charges

At its winter meeting, the Corporation of Brown University approved a 3.9-percent increase in undergraduate charges for the 2000-01 academic year, to $33,530. That figure includes a 4-percent increase in tuition, to $25,600.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — At its winter meeting today (Saturday, Feb. 26, 2000), the Corporation of Brown University approved a 3.9-percent increase in total undergraduate charges for the 2000-01 academic year, including a 4-percent increase in tuition. That overall increase is similar in percentage terms to increases in the previous two years.

The total cost of an undergraduate year at Brown will rise from $32,280 to $33,530, with tuition rising from $24,624 to $25,600.

The Corporation also approved a recommendation by the Advisory Committee on University Planning (ACUP) that the University add $700,000 to the undergraduate financial aid budget for next year and in each of the succeeding three years, beyond normal budget increases. That additional funding will allow the University to finish phasing in a five-year, $5-million package of financial aid enhancements announced in February 1999.

The University’s commitment to student aid continues to be the fastest-growing element of the budget. During the 2000-01 academic year, Brown will increase its spending for student aid by 6.8 percent, to $42.6 million.

“Our new financial aid policy proved to be a great success in its first year and helped make the applicant pool for next fall the largest in the University’s history,” said Laura Freid, executive vice president for public affairs and University relations. “Ensuring funding for the full implementation was a very high priority for the Corporation.” Approximately 37 percent of Brown students receive financial aid packages that included University scholarships.

Brown’s new policy increased the proportion of scholarship grants in financial aid packages and decreased the loan burden for entering students who qualify for aid. It also guaranteed a minimum $1,000 grant for all qualified students, even those who would otherwise have received only loans. The applicant pool for the class of 2004 is 16,775, an 11-percent increase over last year.

The Corporation also approved an ACUP recommendation to lower the endowment draw from 4.7 to 4.6 percent. (The endowment draw, applied to a three-year average value of the University’s endowment, determines the amount of endowment revenue budgeted for the next fiscal year.) Even with a lower draw, Brown’s growing endowment will provide $39 million for next year’s budget, 10 percent more revenue than in the previous fiscal year.

By setting tuition and the endowment draw (the only revenue elements under its direct control), the Corporation determines the revenue side of the budget for the next fiscal year. It will consider the entire University budget at its final meeting of the academic year this May.

A 10-Year History of Undergraduate Tuition and Fees