Tuition Adjustment Sensitive to Tough Economy

MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Board of Trustees of Florida Institute of Technology has approved minimal increases in tuition and room and board costs that mirror actual inflation costs faced by the university. The 2.3 percent tuition increase takes effect May 2010 and is designed to keep pace with inflation while being sensitive to students completing college in a struggling economy.

The 2.3 percent rate increase is tied to the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI), an inflation index designed specifically to track the main cost drivers in higher education. HEPI is issued annually by the Commonfund Institute. HEPI measures the average relative level of prices in a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by colleges and universities each year through current fund educational and general expenditures, excluding research.

“Times are tight economically and we all know that,” said President Anthony J. Catanese. “We hope this minimal increase has limited impact on our students, but it is a necessary step to guarantee that Florida Tech continues to provide the quality educational experience that everyone expects.”

Finding new ways to effectively manage costs is a continuing strategy of the private university, Catanese said. Efficient operations and quality instruction are closely paired, he said, and essential to avoiding drastic increases in costs to students while also maintaining exceptional educational experiences.

The 2.3 percent tuition increase means that annual full-time undergraduate tuition for engineering and science students will be $31,734. Annual tuition costs for aeronautics, business, humanities and psychology students will be $28,910. Room and board rates were also held to a 4.0 percent average increase. Hourly rates for the university’s flight training program are increasing by five dollars.

Robust financial aid packages continue to assist Florida Tech students in meeting costs. For the current academic year, Florida Tech administered $58 million in total financial aid funds for undergraduate students. Approximately $35 million of those funds came from either university or endowment scholarship and grant resources.