For Immediate Release
Contact: Matt Cookson, 603-862-0904 or Matt.cookson@usnh.edu
University System of New Hampshire FY07 Budget Demonstrates
Increased Commitment to Financial Aid and Stable Tuition Increases
June 30, 2006—North Conway, NH—The University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees approved a budget yesterday that features an 18.8 percent increase in financial aid support to help keep the cost of attendance as low as possible for New Hampshire students. The total cost for in-state students to attend institutions of USNH will increase between five and seven percent this fall. Since 2000, trustees have developed and approved budgets that have kept increases in the cost of attendance to an average of 5.4 percent to 6.3 percent across institutions, while increasing in-state undergraduate student financial aid support by an average of 12.5 percent annually over the same time period.
The Board held their annual business meeting at the new Technology Village in North Conway. Among their business, the Board approved the USNH operating budget for 2006-07 and funded the new Affordable College Effort (ACE). This program will begin this fall and be part of a financial aid package that covers all of the direct costs for neediest first year New Hampshire students to attend one of the USNH institutions – the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, Keene State College, and Granite State College.
“As a testament to the Trustee commitment to maintain, if not improve, affordability of USNH institutions for New Hampshire residents, increases in financial aid support for undergraduate students have been at twice the level of increases in the cost of attendance this decade. For some students with need, this action has actually reduced the net cost of attendance during this time period,” said Board Chairman Andrew Lietz.
Trustees voted to approve a $413.3M operating budget for “education and general” purposes in FY07, which represents a 5.9 percent increase from the current FY06 level. The budget also includes a 5.5 percent state appropriation increase, to $92.5M. When combined with activity from auxiliary (self-supporting) operations and sponsored grants and programs, the total USNH operating revenue and expenses will be $687.1M next year.
The 18.8% financial aid increase for FY07 includes grant funding for the new ACE program. Through ACE, grants will be provided to in-state students that are fully Pell eligible who will be freshmen this fall and are attending one of our institutions full time. The grant, combined with existing financial aid will cover the direct costs of attending college during a student’s first year.
Several expenses at USNH have been increasing at rates well above inflation. Since FY00, energy costs have increased by an average of 10.6 percent. Medical benefits have increased by 11.5 percent over the same period, while employees have taken on a greater share of this expense. Repair and renovation costs have increased by 8.3 percent over this period. State appropriations have increased by 3.52 percent on average since FY00, and when adjusted for the growth in number of in state students, by 2.2 percent annually.
For FY07, the direct costs (tuition, fees, room, and board) for in-state students will increase by 7 percent at UNH, 5.2 percent at Plymouth State University, 7.3 percent at Keene State College, and 6.7 percent at Granite State College. While the rate of tuition increase is approximately the same at each institution, the total cost of attendance increase varies due to the costs associated with the construction of new residence and dining facilities on the campuses. These room, board, and mandatory fee related expenses have all been approved by the respective student governance groups, who enthusiastically endorsed the need to expand and upgrade such facilities.
In dollar terms, tuition for in-state students at the University of New Hampshire will increase by $530, to $8,240. Tuition at both Plymouth State University and Keene State College will rise by $370 to $5,780. Tuition for students at Granite State College will increase by $13 per credit, for a total of $208 per credit hour. What follows is a chart showing the total cost of attendance for in state and out of state students at each of the four institutions for the 2006-07 academic year:
UNH |
In-State |
Out-of-State |
Tuition |
$8,240 |
$20,690 |
Fees |
$2,161 |
$2,161 |
Room & Board |
$7,584 |
$7,584 |
Total |
$17,985 |
$30,435 |
PSU |
In-State |
Out-of-State |
Tuition |
$5,780 |
$13,050 |
Fees |
$1,676 |
$1,676 |
Room & Board |
$6,980 |
$6,980 |
Total |
$14,436 |
$21,706 |
KSC |
In-State |
Out-of-State |
Tuition |
$5,780 |
$13,050 |
Fees |
$2,032 |
$2,032 |
Room & Board |
$7,026 |
$7,026 |
Total |
$14,838 |
$22,108 |
UNH-M |
In-State |
Out-of-State |
Tuition |
$7,580 |
$19,170 |
GSC |
In-State |
Out-of-State |
Credit-Hour |
$208 |
$228 |
“Throughout this decade, trustees and administrators have had to balance our strong desire to keep costs down and commit more dollars to financial aid with double digit increases in energy costs and health care costs, and significant repair and renovation needs on our campuses. This budget continues this effort to direct more support toward needy New Hampshire residents and enables us to continue to offer a quality educational product to those we serve,” Chairman Lietz said.
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