The Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, approved a 4.85% increase in undergraduate tuition and fees at its February meeting, according to a Today@Brown announcement from President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20. The increase includes a 4.5% increase in undergraduate tuition.
The increase, which will go into effect July 1, comes as inflation rates are “more comparable with pre-pandemic levels,” Paxson wrote.
Paxson added that the tuition and fee increases during the past two years have been in line with peer institutions and their responses to inflation rates.
The coming year’s tuition and fees increase will be implemented alongside a $17 million increase in the undergraduate financial aid budget, an 8% increase. This will fund the University’s ongoing initiative to eliminate loans from financial aid packages and support the practice of need-blind admissions for international undergraduates, which was implemented this year.
During their meeting, the Corporation also approved increases in the three salary pools that make up faculty and staff pay: a 1% increase to the base pay pool, a 1.75% increase to the performance-based merit pool and a 0.75% increase in the pool for promotions, retention and equity.
“Annual increases for faculty and staff may not reflect the total 3.5% designated for the salary pool due to the different components of the pool,” Paxson explained.
The decision comes after faculty expressed disappointment in their compensation following the University’s decision against implementing a one-time 5% salary increase, The Herald previously reported.
Tuition and salary increases were recommended in the University Resources Committee’s mid-cycle report.
The URC, which is composed of the provost, faculty members, students and administrators, made its recommendations to the Corporation with the University’s current $46 million structural deficit in mind.
During the meeting, the Corporation also approved the name of Brown’s new school for international and public affairs. The Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of International and Public Affairs is set to launch on July 1, and the inaugural dean of the school will be announced this spring.
The Corporation also formally accepted more than $130 million in gifts and pledges which were received since their last meeting in October. In recognition of the gifts, they established new professorships including the August Family Assistant Professorship in Economics and the Professorship IV in Brain Science.
The Corporation also voted to reappoint Pamela Ress Reeves ’87 as Vice Chancellor and appoint Earl Hunt II ’03 as Treasurer, succeeding Theresia Gouw ’90, who was elected in 2016.
Roma Shah is a senior staff writer covering University Hall and higher education. She's a freshman from Morgan Hill, CA and studies Neuroscience. In her free time, she can be found doing puzzles, hiking or curled up with a book.
