The College also reaffirms its commitment to meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need
The Dartmouth Board of Trustees approved a 3.8 percent increase in undergraduate tuition for the 2013-14 academic year, and reaffirmed its commitment to affordability through continuation of its long-standing need-blind admission and generous need-based financial aid program. The decision came at the Board’s March 2, 2013, meeting.
Dartmouth will continue to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need in financial aid for all four years. Currently, 45 percent of the student body receives financial aid. For the coming fiscal year, Dartmouth has budgeted $82 million in scholarship awards, a 6 percent increase over the $77 million in awards projected for this fiscal year.
Undergraduate tuition for the 2013-14 academic year will be $45,445, an increase of $1,664 over the current year's tuition rate. Total tuition, room, board, and mandatory fees next year will also increase 3.8 percent from the current year, to $60,201. This represents the smallest percentage increase in overall charges since 2001.
"The tuition rate for the coming year will enable Dartmouth to maintain the highest quality liberal arts education for our students," said President Carol L. Folt. "Our goal remains to ensure that a Dartmouth education stays within reach for prospective and current students, regardless of their family's income."
Maria Laskaris '84, dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, said, "Our current financial aid recipients receive, on average, a need-based grant that covers 66 percent of the cost of attendance. Affordability is a priority for Dartmouth, and we will continue to increase our financial aid budget as necessary to meet that important commitment."
Last year, Dartmouth reaffirmed its long-standing focus on accessibility for all students by lifting the free tuition and no-loan threshold for family income to $100,000 per year—nearly twice the U.S. median household income—up from $75,000. This policy change, which went into effect for eligible current and incoming students at the start of the 2012-13 academic year, significantly reduces the net cost of attendance for affected students and their families.
Dartmouth has a fully need-blind admissions policy for undergraduates—including for international students—whereby students are admitted regardless of their ability to pay. Since 2007, Dartmouth has increased scholarship awards by more than 50 percent.
In U.S. News and World Report's 2013 college rankings, Dartmouth placed seventh among national universities for value, based on a school's academic quality and net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid.
Dartmouth also offers a competitive financial aid program, which will match better offers from Ivy League peers and take into consideration more favorable need-based aid offers from other institutions.
Approximately 11 percent of current Dartmouth students are the first in their families to attend college and about 13 percent are recipients of Pell Grants (a federal grant for students from low-income families).
The tuition rates apply to all undergraduates as well as to students in the Dartmouth Graduate Studies programs and in Thayer School of Engineering, which offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Tuition for the Geisel School of Medicine will increase 5.5 percent to $53,432, and tuition for Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business will increase 4.9 percent to $58,935.
Board approves FY14 operating and capital budgets, endowment distribution
During the meeting the Trustees voted to approve Dartmouth's fiscal year 2014 operating budget of $981 million. In addition, the Board approved a FY14 capital budget of $38 million (excluding funds for the Williamson Translational Research Building, described below), to fund renovations to facilities, energy conservation, building planning, and computer services/IT projects.
The Board also approved an estimated distribution from the endowment for FY14 of $187 million for operating and non-operating activities, a slight increase from FY13's projected distribution of $185 million. The budgeted distribution for FY14 represents approximately 5.2 percent of the endowment value as of December 31, 2012. In FY14, distributions from the endowment will fund approximately 19 percent of the operating budget, slightly less than the 20 percent average of the prior three years.
Board approves construction funding for the Williamson Translational Research Building
After previously approving design funding and final plans for the Williamson Translational Research Building at the Geisel School of Medicine's Lebanon, N.H., campus, the Board voted this weekend to approve $116.5 million in funding for the building's construction and equipment. The project will be funded primarily through gifts, internal reserves, long-term debt, and contributions from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
The new building will house academic, research, and clinical programs concerned with adapting laboratory discoveries to use in patient care. Multi-disciplinary problem solving in areas including neuroscience, cardiovascular science, and immunology/infectious diseases, among others, will be emphasized.
The building is a critical component of the Geisel School's 20x20 plan, a bold strategy that seeks to lift Dartmouth into the top 20 medical schools nationwide by 2020.
Board extends Chair's term; re-elects Trustees to second term
The Board voted to extend the term of Steve Mandel '78 as Chair for an additional year through June 8, 2014.
The Board also voted to elect Trustees Bill Helman '80 and Denise Dupré '80 each to a second four-year term on Dartmouth's Board of Trustees. The new terms begin following Commencement in June 2013.
Over the weekend, the Board had the opportunity to attend a performance of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a program funded in part by the Hopkins Center for the Arts to celebrate the Hop's 50th anniversary and Dartmouth's Year of the Arts.
