Boston College will elevate its tuition for undergraduates by 4.25 p.c for the approaching educational yr, its largest leap in 14 years, BU President Robert A. Brown wrote in an end-of-year letter to school and workers.
“By far, my best instant concern is the impression of inflation on school and workers, our college students, and the College,” Brown wrote. “This improve doesn’t preserve tempo with the present nationwide fee of inflation and can’t absolutely offset the elevated prices of College operations or fund wage will increase that might absolutely mitigate the consequences of inflation on the households of college and workers. I additionally am conscious that our college students and their households are affected by our will increase and by inflation. We’re caught in an inflationary vise between the institutional pressures and the impression on our college students and their households.”
Brown cited a variety of elements for the choice, together with the lifting of a hiring freeze that had been in place throughout many of the COVID-19 pandemic. He mentioned BU has employed 1,590 workers members within the final 12 months (200 greater than the closest comparable interval in 2019-2020). And lots of open positions nonetheless stay, he famous.
With the speed of inflation at the moment round 8 p.c—the very best since 1981—Brown mentioned the schooling hike doesn’t preserve tempo with the hovering value of residing and that the schooling improve can not absolutely offset the elevated working prices at BU. Different schools and universities across the nation are imposing their very own comparable tuition will increase, with none matching the speed of inflation. Harvard Faculty is growing tuition by 3 p.c, Boston Faculty by 3.9 p.c, MIT by 3.8 p.c, George Washington College by 3.9 p.c, Duke College by 4 p.c, and College of Virginia by 4.7 p.c.
Along with the schooling information, Brown mentioned the most recent class of scholars who’ve accepted admission gives from BU is “academically stronger than ever” and “extra numerous and represents a larger number of excessive faculties and socioeconomic backgrounds than ever earlier than.” He mentioned the category may also be bigger than the anticipated 3,100, due to a rise within the variety of college students who accepted BU’s provide.
“Elevated undergraduate monetary assist helps make a Boston College training accessible to a extra numerous pupil inhabitants,” Brown wrote.
In his letter, he famous one other problem that BU, like all schools and universities, has confronted: a larger want for extra psychological well being providers. The pandemic shined a brilliant highlight on pupil well-being and the urgency for faculties to make extra providers accessible. “Important further sources for each in-person and telehealth consultations have been deployed this yr,” Brown wrote, mentioning the promotion of Carrie Landa, Pupil Well being Providers director of behavioral drugs, to a brand new place as govt director of pupil wellbeing.
With BU’s 2022 Graduation lower than two weeks away, Brown additionally struck a observe of optimism in his letter. He wrote that final yr was the most effective fundraising yr in BU’s historical past, and this yr is on tempo to exceed that. And he pointed to the glistening new Heart for Computing & Information Sciences on Comm Ave as a beacon of how BU is set to be a analysis and thought chief within the exploding subject of computing and knowledge science.
“Though the twists and turns brought on by COVID have sophisticated the College’s operations and our private lives,” he wrote, “I hope you’re taking satisfaction within the collective progress we now have made beneath very tough circumstances. Though every of us might assess Boston College in numerous methods, I imagine we are able to all take satisfaction within the accomplishments of the 7,454 college students who will graduate on Might 22. Their accomplishments are constructed on the collective work of our educational group.”
