Samford University’s board of trustees has approved a 5 percent increase in tuition as well as a 2 percent increase in room and board fees for the 2005-06 academic year. An increase of 4 percent was also approved for Samford’s Cumberland School of Law.
Additional revenue will support a $109 million operating budget for 2005-06. Clayton Fogg, Samford’s director of finance, said the increases were needed to meet rising costs, though Samford’s charges will still be 30 percent less than the national average for private universities.
According to a study by the College Board, the national average for room, board and tuition at private universities was $27,516 for the 2004-05 academic year. Samford’s average cost for 2005-06 will be $20,382.
Unlike many universities faced with double-digit tuition and fee increases, Samford includes all costs except parking and some applied music fees in its tuition rates, Fogg explained. “We do not add lab fees, technology fees or building use fees that drive up the total cost to the student,” Fogg said. “We even include local telephone and Internet service, as well as cable television.”
Even with the increase, the university must continue to seek additional revenue sources to meet budget demands. Revenue from tuition, room and board covers less than 70 percent of the total budget, Fogg explained, “which is very unusual for a university ranked among the top five in the South.”
(SU)
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