Board Approves Tuition Increase

Factors such as the rise in health care costs and a volatile stock market have presented the Ithaca College Board of Trustees with fiscal challenges, such as a declining endowment. At its February meeting the board approved a budget that raised the cost of attendance by 5.5 percent. The new budget sets tuition at $22,264 and standard room and board charges at $9,466, bringing the total cost of attending next year to $31,770.

In a letter to students' parents announcing the increase in tuition and room and board charges, President Peggy R. Williams wrote that the increase reflects an ongoing commitment to supporting and enhancing the College's academic programs. "Ithaca has long maintained a practice of good fiscal management, with timely and appropriate investment in our programs and facilities. The result is a high-quality education consistently cited in college guides and national magazines as one of the 'best values' in higher education." The College maintains its longtime efforts to make an Ithaca education accessible for all students through comprehensive institutional financial aid, wrote Williams, adding, "We continue to work very hard with the federal and state governments to ensure that important assistance programs are available for students and families."

Despite the increase in tuition, the cost of attending Ithaca College will remain relatively inexpensive in comparison with peer institutions. Pointing to a group of 20 regionally competitive private colleges and universities with which the College has compared itself for the past two decades, Williams noted in her letter that Ithaca's 2003-4 tuition is the third lowest even when matched against those institutions' 2002-3 charges.