Brown announces $976.4M budget, increases in financial aid, tuition, room and board

BROWN UNIVERSITY is increasing its financial aid as well as tuition, fees and room and board in conjunction with corporation approval of a $976.4 million budget for fiscal year 2016 and receipt of two substantial gifts.
BROWN UNIVERSITY is increasing its financial aid as well as tuition, fees and room and board in conjunction with corporation approval of a $976.4 million budget for fiscal year 2016 and receipt of two substantial gifts.

PROVIDENCE – Brown University is increasing its financial aid as well as tuition, fees and room and board in conjunction with corporation approval of a $976.4 million budget for fiscal year 2016 and receipt of two substantial gifts.
The university corporation expects to see revenue of $964 million, plus $7.5 million in one-time revenue, but will need to draw on unrestricted reserves to cover the remaining $4.4-million deficit, according to the budget submitted by President Christina Paxson.
It was approved Saturday at the corporation’s winter business meeting.
The recent deficits have been attributed to a greater than expected decline in federal research funding and unexpected growth in financial aid costs, the university said in press releases.
A deficit task force is at work to eliminate the deficit. The university will draw on reserves through fiscal 2018 to offset short-term deficits while structural adjustments take effect.
The financial aid budget will rise 8 percent to $112.5 million, while at the same time, total expenses will increase 4.4 percent to $62,046 for the 2015-16 undergraduate academic year for tuition, fees and room and board.
Brown’s endowment will provide $125.3 million for the fiscal 2016 budget, an increase of $7.4 million over the current fiscal year. Last June, the market value of Brown’s endowment rose above $3 billion, exceeding the previous all-time high of $2.8 billion in 2008.
Paxson said in a statement that the budget “achieves a careful and important balance between addressing structural problems and their attendant deficits and maintaining the university’s momentum toward important strategic goals.”
The corporation also approved two major contributions to financial aid programs. An anonymous donor is giving $1 million a year for the next 15 years to the Undergraduate Resumed Education program, which will increase the number of returning students from 17 to 30. This program serves students who have been out of high school for six years or more, and includes parents, military veterans and community college students.
Brown provides 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all undergraduates. However, while its admission procedures for entering first-year domestic students are fully need-blind, admission into the Undergraduate Resumed Education program is need-aware.
“This generous gift represents a significant step toward the day when Brown can extend its need-blind admission policy to all [Undergraduate Resumed Education] applicants,” Paxson said.
The Sidney Frank Scholars program, which provides scholarships to students with the greatest financial need, will receive $10 million in additional support from the Sidney E. Frank Foundation. This gift will allow these scholars to participate more fully in internships and other summer learning experiences, the university said.

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