Amid the process of finalizing next year's budget and the release of a draft of the strategic plan, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel announced at a briefing Thursday that University administration is anticipating a financial model that would raise the cost of attending Brandeis by about four percent for the second year in a row and maintain this annual increase for the next several years.

The Board of Trustees will vote on a budget for fiscal year 2014 at its March meeting.

For the average entering first-year, the four percent increase model would bring the total cost of attendance, including tuition, fees, room and board, to nearly $59,000, up from about $56,500 last year.

While the sticker price is steep, said Flagel, "The reality is, the kind of education we're providing ... is not possible to run as a less expensive institution unless there was a radical shift in other support."

Flagel said that financial aid is expected to "rise very robustly along with this, as we did last year."

However, it could be much higher or even lower, depending on the financial profile of the class that enrolls next year, said Flagel.
Last spring, tuition and fees were raised by 4.1 percent for returning undergraduates and 4.85 percent for new students.
In May of last year, the Boston Business Journal ranked Brandeis as the second most expensive college in Massachusetts. The Business Journal estimated that the total cost is at $56,550, placing it behind Williams College and ahead of Boston University, Boston College and Babson College.

Flagel rejected concerns of state rankings, saying that the national rankings were more pertinent to Brandeis.

"Because we're a national, and, one could easily argue ... global institution, the look is really much more where we sit nationally," said Flagel.

"I'd be delighted if the state would not have a list of the most expensive schools."

In its 2012-2013 rankings of the nation's most expensive colleges, the online publication Campus Grotto placed Brandeis at the number 40 spot in tuition and fees. Brandeis was number 36 for total cost of attendance (tuition, fees and room and board).

The top 100 in total cost ranged from about $53,000 (Case Western Reserve) to $61,236 (Sarah Lawrence College).
Flagel suggested that students may also see a change in their fees for dining and academics next year.

Potentially, this would mean changing the dining model so that more students are on a meal plan. Students who take more than the normal course load of four classes per semester would also be charged for each additional class.

Currently, just under half of the University's $320 million annual budget comes from undergraduate tuition, fees and room and board, said Flagel.

Another 14 percent comes from graduate tuition and fees, 17 percent from research grants and 17 percent from donors, including about 11 to 12 percent drawn from the endowment and five to six percent from annual gifts
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Of this $320 million, about 33 to 38 percent goes toward day-to-day operation of the University.

An estimated 27 percent is allocated to research, salaries and benefits, and 22 percent is used for financial aid.

Flagel also revealed on Thursday that an 80-plus-page draft of the strategic plan is due to be released online tomorrow or later this week.

The plan will highlight broad issues of University identity, Brandeis' Jewish roots, social justice, the educational experience, sustainability and marketing Brandeis to prospective students.