Tuition, Room and Board to Rise by 4.72 Percent
Revenue aimed at capital improvements and better student life
Tuition and room and board at Boston University will rise by 4.72 percent next year, putting the total cost of studies and room and board at BU at $45,880 for the 2007–2008 academic year. President Robert A. Brown announced the increase in a letter to parents and students sent out March 15.
Tuition will rise from $33,330 to $34,930, and room and board will go from $10,480 to $10,950.
“We have tried to minimize this year’s increase, but we recognize that it is still an additional burden to you,” Brown wrote. “It is important to note that much of the additional revenue we do raise will be used to improve the quality of our educational programs and student life on campus, as well as to offset some of our rising costs.”
While the University continues to explore other ways to increase revenue, such as research grants and philanthropic fundraising, University Provost David Campbell says, the need to bring in quality faculty and make capital improvements to campus is part of an investment cycle that enables BU to remain a competitive private research university.
“The most important priority is to put our first dollars where we have the greatest ability to enhance our excellence and attractiveness to high-quality students and faculty,” Campbell says. “A second priority is to see where our funds could be invested so as to attract either philanthropic or government funds. Finally, we have to remain alert to unexpected opportunities — these arise, for instance, in faculty hiring, where there is suddenly a chance to bring on board a distinguished senior or an outstanding junior faculty member whose presence can transform one of our programs. We’ve got to anticipate that some number of these opportunities will arise each year and plan for them.”
Campbell points to the Student Village II dormitory, scheduled to open in 2009, as one example of how BU is increasing its overall appeal to students. He also reports that the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories on the Medical Campus has paid off as an investment by attracting nearly $130 million in federal funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Other planned improvements include renovations to the College of Fine Arts and the School of Law, a 6.6 percent budget increase for the University’s libraries, and the addition of approximately 20 new faculty positions across the Charles River Campus.
“Increased quality faculty and facilities and increased excellence in our academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs will enable us to improve in our competition with peers for the best students,” Campbell says. “Better quality students will help attract faculty and external funding, both philanthropic and foundation. President Brown has characterized this dynamic as a ‘virtuous cycle’ — I think it’s a very apt metaphor and a good basis of our approach to investing in our future.”
Jessica Ullian can be reached at jullian@bu.edu.