GW officials said in a meeting with student leaders Wednesday they will propose a 4.9 percent tuition increase to the Board of Trustees this week. If the proposal passes, it will end 13 years of consecutive declines in tuition jumps.
Last year’s increase was 4.4 percent.
Student Association President Roger Kapoor said the break in the trend is “quite shocking” but said he hopes the increase will be spent in areas students are most concerned about.
The proposed 2002-03 budget would raise undergraduate tuition by $1,300. Unlike last year, the University and Health and Wellness Center fees will be included in the tuition total.
“Students said they were tired of being nickled and dimed,” University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg told a panel of students and administrators.
Freshmen and sophomores will pay $27,820, $360 more than juniors and seniors because of previous increases. The proposed 4.9 percent increase would be the largest for continuing students in four years. GW dropped the number .1 percent each year during that time.
The report proposes a 7 percent increase in housing overall next year and a reduction in the required minimums for meal plans.
The bulk of the budget increase, or about 40 percent, is earmarked for facilities and paying off debts on construction projects. The next biggest allocation goes to financial aid, which gets about a fourth of the increases. University officials will release details of the budget after the Board of Trustees considers the proposal Friday.
Financial aid will also receive a significant boost. Vice President of Student and Academic Support Services Robert Chernak said GW hopes to raise the cap on need-based grants from $21,000 to $23,000, most of which will go to students already receiving aid.
Student leaders, who were relatively quiet when officials announced the proposed tuition hike, expressed concerns over the additional $1,000 fee for School of Media and Public Affairs majors already pay, a lack of student group meeting space and what they called insufficient internet access in the West End.
While Kapoor said he has not had a chance to review the entire proposal, he said GW “is reallocating in areas we feel deserve more attention.”
An annual SA survey of 400 students found that most want money spent on academics, campus security and financial aid. It is the first time security has been listed among the top five student concerns, Kapoor said.
Chernak said he expects a significant decrease in its admission rate – decreasing from last year’s 48.5 acceptance rate to possibly less than 40 percent. He said GW hopes to limit the incoming freshmen class to 2,250 through greater use of the waiting list.
GW student leaders said they were pleased with the move to lower the acceptance rate. The survey showed that increasing class size was among the top five student concerns.
The report from the Office of Vice President and Treasurer that will be presented to GW’s Board of Trustees Friday proposes a 4.9 percent increase in Law School tuition and a 3.2 percent rise in other graduate programs. Proposed figures for the medical school were unavailable.
Last years tuition increase went to additional funding for Gelman Library, Law School renovations and financial aid.
