Brown approves 3.5% hike in student costs

PROVIDENCE – At its regular winter meeting on Feb. 11, the Brown University corporation approved a 3.2 percent increase in the consolidated operating budget for the 2013 fiscal year, the school announced.
According to a news release, the Brown budget anticipates expenditures totaling $865.2 million, with revenue of $855.8 million. The university will close the deficit by drawing more than $9 million from reserve funds.
Total undergraduate charges – tuition, fees, room and board – will rise 3.5 percent to $55,016. Following an 8.3 percent increase in the current year, the undergraduate financial-aid budget will increase another 2.1 percent to $90.1 million in the 2012-13 academic year to “sustain improvements in financial aid and the lowering of student indebtedness.”
It was unclear whether the increase in tuition was related to recent efforts by Providence to increase the school’s voluntary payments. The college’s contributions to the city’s coffers have come under fire recently as Providence has wrestled with financial hardship.
“With regard to the city, the corporation reaffirmed the importance of financial support for the city consistent with the university’s needs and commensurate with our resources,” Brown President Ruth Simmons said in a statement. •