ByGeorge! Online

Feb. 19, 2002

Board of Trustees Approves Tuition Increases for 2002–03

Plan Calls for Expanded Financial Aid, Classroom Enhancements, and Graduate Assistant Stipends

By Gretchen King

The George Washington University Board of Trustees approved a 4.5 percent overall increase for full-time undergraduate tuition, fees, and room and food allowance for the 2002–03 academic year. The Board also approved a decision to include University, health & wellness, matriculation, and parent services fees in the cost of tuition, instead of adding them as separate charges. Tuition and fees will increase by 4.9 percent for academic year 2002–03. The room and food allowance increase of 3.2 percent is offset by a $200 reduction in the basic food plan cost.

The additional funding will be used to enhance the strategic goals of the University, including investments in new classroom space, housing, technology, and security. In addition, funding for student financial assistance programs is expected to rise to more than $94 million, representing an increase in excess of $9.8 million. The plan also calls for increased stipend funding for graduate teaching assistants, graduate research assistants, and graduate administrative assistants; increased funding for Research Enhancement Incentive Awards for faculty; and initial investments in areas identified by the University as strategic priorities.

“As we establish ourselves as one of the top universities in the world, we continue to invest in our students, our faculty, and our campus,” says GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. “New investments in classrooms, housing, technology, and security all speak to GW’s number one goal of academic excellence in a safe and vibrant community. We also recognize the economic challenges facing our students and their families, and have moved to increase student financial aid by nearly $10 million.”

The Board approved an even more modest 3.2 percent tuition/fee increase for graduate level students, down from last year’s 3.3 percent increase. The GW Law School tuition/fee increase will be 4.9 percent higher for academic year 2002–03. Tuition for students at the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health and Health Sciences will increase 4 percent for first-year students and 3 percent for second-, third-, and fourth-year students.

The total amount for tuition and fees for new undergraduate students and those students who entered the University in fall 2001 will be $27,820 ($36,930 including room and food allowance). Students who entered the University in fall 2000 or earlier will pay $27,460 ($36,570 including room and food allowance). In terms of costs, the increase puts GW in the middle of a 35 university market basket — schools of comparative size, reputation, and offerings — behind such institutions as Hamilton College, Tufts University, Tulane University, and Duke University.

 

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