Tuition Increases, More Financial Aid Next Year
Undergraduates will have more financial help than ever with an unprecedented 24 percent jump in financial aid next year. That money should help offset a 7.2 percent tuition increase for 2003-04. The standard package of room and board will also increase 5.2 percent from last year.
The increase in financial aid, an additional $3 million over last year for a total $22 million, is the largest jump in a decade. “Our hope is that by putting more of that financial aid in the budget to help students, we can at the same time increase our net tuition to fund more of our goals,” said Robert Niehoff, S.J. vice president of planning and budget.
The jump in financial aid is to help students in a time of lean governmental assistance. “We’d like to fund the additional needs of our students but cover the cuts at the federal and state levels,” said Susan Murphy, associate dean and director of financial aid.
The increase in the financial aid pool is also due to increased enrollment, said Fr. Niehoff. USF attracted its highest number of new undergraduates ever over the last two years, with 845 students enrolling in 2001-02, a 10 percent increase over the year before. This year, USF enrolled 843 new freshmen.
Tuition and fee increases for students are in line with sharper inflationary jumps in recent years, said Annette Brown, budget director. “Budgets go up every year as we pay more for salaries and benefits, utilities, commercial building space, and technological equipment,” she said. “These types of purchases require increases in university revenues and expenses.”
Starting in the fall, undergraduate tuition will be $23,220 for the year. Some graduate tuition will rise by 5 percent, to $880 per unit for graduate students in arts and sciences, business, and nursing. Undergraduates in the College of Professional Studies will pay $670 per unit while graduates will pay $730. Rates for the School of Education will range from $730 to $880 per unit. Credential programs will increase only minimally, to $575 per unit. School of Law tuition will also increase 5 percent, to $13,600 per semester from $13,141 per semester this year.
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