This week, the Board of Trustees met to discuss and vote on a variety of issues that will affect the University and its students in both the immediate future and the long term. The most notable changes are those that are perhaps the most visible: increases in tuition and lowered class sizes.

While it's unfortunate to see that tuition is once again rising, this year by a more significant margin than in years past, we are glad that the University is  beginning to reverse its trend of increasing class sizes and instead lowering its target number of matriculating students for the Class of 2016. In the past, this board has expressed concern over larger class sizes.

With this new proposal, we are encouraged the administration is moving in the right direction.

The Board increased the cost of attendance for currently enrolled students by 4.1 percent, bringing total costs to $56,022, and increased the cost of attendance for incoming first-years by 4.85 percent, which translates to $56,407. This increased cost is significant, and the upward trend of tuition is troubling for students-now and in the future-and their families. We recognize, however, that this trend exists across higher education and is not isolated to the University.

The Board's vote to increase financial aid by seven percent demonstrates the University's commitment to making attendance as affordable as possible for its students. We hope that the administration continues in that vein by continuing to provide need-based aid and reconsidering the prospect of providing merit-based aid in light of the rapidly rising cost of attendance.

As troubled as this board is by the high costs imposed on students, we are pleased to see that the size of the incoming class is projected to be smaller than this year's first-year class-800 to 820 students as opposed to 858 in previous years. Even though the rising price tag is problematic in many ways, the prospect of reducing the stress on dining, housing and academics posed by the growing student body is heartening.

We have commented in the past on the many problems posed by enrolling more students than the University can comfortably accommodate, and this return to a more manageable class size will be a welcome change to those students who hope to take full advantage of their time here.

The Board's decision to have smaller class sizes is a positive change that will hopefully lower the faculty-student ratio and mitigate some of the problems that have been noted as more students have come to Brandeis. While rising costs are a problem, not only with this University but with many nationwide, we are glad that this unfortunate trend will enact positive changes to the experiences of students here.