This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Gabrielle Marush

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to increase tuition by 2.9 percent at their quarterly meeting Friday, an increase on par with GW tuition increases over the past few years.

The increase brings the cost of tuition to $44,148 for all freshmen and transfer students entering the University next academic year.

The increase is $1,243 more than the class who entered this fall pays. The percent increase is slightly less than the 3 percent increases the Board has approved for each of the last 3 years.

The $44,148 amount excludes additional fees for labs, room and board.

The cost will not change for continuing students due to the University’s fixed tuition policy.

“The plan has really come into its own at this time of economic uncertainty,” University President Steven Knapp said of GW’s fixed tuition policy, which guarantees that a student will pay the same tuition for at least 10 semesters. “We’re trying to keep tuition growth as low as possible. We want to get off that list of most expensive universities.”

GW is one of few universities who use a fixed tuition program, which Knapp said has received little attention from national media. Although the first year’s tuition is more expensive than some of GW’s market-basket schools, the overall cost of a GW education is on par with the national average due to the plan, Knapp said.

The average increase in tuition and fees for GW’s 42 basket schools has been 3.8 percent every year over the past 5 years, according to a University news release. This makes GW’s 2.9 percent increase less than that average.