Ithaca College

At its winter meeting February 17-18, the Ithaca College Board of Trustees approved a budget for 2010-11 that features the lowest rate of increase in tuition, room, and board in eight years.

Ithaca College tuition next year will be $33,630, with fees for room (standard double occupancy) and board at $12,314. This will bring the total cost of attendance next year to $45,944, which is a 4.8 percent increase over the current year. This represents the smallest rate of increase since 2002-3.

"Last year at this time the College began to make a significant adjustment in the way it conducts its business," said President Tom Rochon. "Permanent cuts in the operating budget and some modest personnel reductions, combined with a record incoming class last fall, have put the College on an exceptionally strong financial footing."

In a letter to parents announcing next year's charges, Rochon acknowledged the difficult economy and the sacrifices made by parents to make it possible for their son or daughter to receive the benefits of an Ithaca College education. He promised to honor those efforts by continuing the College's commitment to controlling costs while maintaining the highest standards of quality.

Rochon noted that over $84 million in the College's operating budget for next year will go toward financial aid, the largest amount ever. He reaffirmed a set of New Year's resolutions he had made in 2009.

"Among those was a pledge to keep tuition increases smaller in the coming year than we had done in the recent past, to dedicate emergency financial aid for students whose personal or family financial circumstances have changed, and to scrutinize our own budget in every category for opportunities to reduce expenditures without compromising our standard of excellence," he wrote. "We met the terms of those resolutions last year and I think it appropriate that we carry forward those commitments for the year ahead."