A 6.1 percent increase in tuition --from $28,164 for the 2002-2003 fiscal year to $29,875 for the 2003-2004 fiscal year - placed Brandeis at number ten on CNN Money's "Most Expensive Colleges" list. The list ranks U.S. universities by tuition alone, excluding housing and extra expenses. According to CNN, the costs of providing higher education is rising, and relatively young universities with small endowments, such as Brandeis, use tuition to make up a large portion of the school's budget.

According to Executive Vice President Peter French, the six percent increase in tuition this past year was a result of many factors, including the declining economy and Brandeis' commitment since the late '90s to keep tuition down.

"We've been very aware of the Brandeis ranking in terms of tuition...and I think in the mid 90s we were number two on that list," French said. "We've been trying...since the late '90s to keep tuition increases as low as possible."


Budget Planning

Brandeis was ranked number 18 on the list of Top 20 Tuition and Fees Institutions Ranked by Five Year Average Increase by The Chronicle of Higher Education and US News and World Report. Brandeis' average percentage increase in tuition over the past five years is 4.4 percent.

With the average percentage increase for ranked schools at 4.8 percent over the past five years, Brandeis' percentage increase, on average, is lower.

"I think this is reflective of our effort to keep the cost of tuition down relative to our peers," French said.

When ranked by total student charges, including room, board and other fees, The Chronicle of Higher Education and US News and World Report rank Brandeis 13. New York University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, University of Chicago and Columbia are ranked top ten in this category.

To decrease tuition, the University has been making cuts in all of the non-academic departments, including faculty.

"The last three years have been very difficult for institutions of higher education, and like most schools, we have felt the effects of the down economy, particularly as that has affected financial markets and the endowment," French said.

According to French, when putting together the budget for the current fiscal year, one of the key things examined was the increase in tuition.


"We had to weigh the projected income from the endowment, we had to weigh what our needs are in relation to increasing faculty and staff salaries, we had to weigh how much we felt we could tolerate in terms of cost reductions...and then we looked at the ability of what we feel is parents' and familys' ability to pay," French said.

The Brandeis student to faculty ratio is eight to one, ranking it number five on the Top 20 Tuition and Fees Institutions Ranked by Student Faculty Ratio according to the Chronicle of Higher Education and US News and World Report.

'That's one of the factors that drives the cost here, this is really at the core of Brandeis: the quality of the education here is driven to a great extent by the student faculty ratio,' French said. 'Our goal here is to keep (tuition) as low as we can, however, we want to maintain the quality of this institution...and quality costs.'

French said a judgment was made by the administration and trustees that the University should not make any more cuts, particularly within the academy. 'We're feeling under a considerable amount of pressure given the drop in projected endowment income ... we had tried in terms of managing through these past three years to cut primarily in non-academic areas, we felt we had cut as much as we could and the next cuts would have to be out of the academy,' French said. 'Even with the six percent increase, the University still expects to run a deficit this year in order not to increase tuition further or take any more cuts.'

Endowments and gifts

Last year the University received $8.8 million in budget relieving gifts, which exceeded the University's target of $8 million. Budget relieving gifts go into the University's general fund and pay for a myriad of things including salaries, financial aid, and bills.

The University also received $7 million last year in restricted gifts for special programs. These gifts are donated to support specific programs, such as the Ethics Center. Additionally, Brandeis received $10 million in capital projects gifts last year to support The Village.

Brandeis raised $25 million in endowment last year. Endowment funds are invested rather than consumed right away. Brandeis' current endowment is $126.5 thousand per student, compared to the $243.3 average endowment per student of schools ranked by the Chronicle of Higher Education and US News and World Report. This is attributable to the fact that Brandeis is a relatively new institution.

'We've had 55 years to raise an endowment, when you look at an institution like MIT or Harvard or Yale they've had two hundred years to raise an endowment,' said French. 'We're at a situation where we're doing very well in terms of raising money, but we haven't had as much time, so we haven't accumulated endowments as big as those of other places that we compete with.'

Schools with low endowment per student have added pressure, according to French, because these schools have less non-tuition money.

According to French, Brandeis is trying to reduce the amount raised for annualconsumption and shift to raising money for endowment. 'Money going into the endowment is building for the future...if we have a bigger endowment we're more insulated from a need to raise tuition,' French said.

Financial aid

According to Director of Enrollment Deena Whitfield, prospective students do not only look at tuition when choosing Brandeis.

'What is of most importance is that we always remind families that what really counts is net cost minus the price minus scholarships, grants, loans and work study,' Whitfield said.

According to Director of Student Financial Services Peter Giumette, two-thirds of the class of 2007 are receiving some sort of scholarship or grant, and one half of the class is receiving financial aid. University Scholarships including Justice Brandeis Scholarships, President's and Dean's Awards are fixed.

'There is discussion of it floating with tuition,' Giumette said. Prospective and current students may speak with counselors from the Office of Student Financial Services to learn about financial options. Students and parents can take out additional private loans in addition to Brandeis' financial aid options.

Approximately 320 additional loans have been taken out by parents thus far this year. At a similar point last year, 280 additional loans had been taken out by parents. According to Giumette, parents and students can take out additional loans and can use home equity to help finance a Brandeis education.

"Our goal here is to keep (tuition) as low as we can; however, we want to maintain the quality of this institution and quality costs," French said.