Undergraduate tuition announced for 2013-14

By Andrew Ta     3/13/13 7:00pm

Another year means another tuition increase. Undergraduate tuition will be increasing from $36,610 to $38,260 for the 2013-14 school year, according to Vice President for Finance Kathy Collins. Although tuition continues to rise, its rate of growth is decreasing, Collins said. 

"This is an increase of 4.5 [percent]," Collins said. "Last year it was at 4.9 [percent]. Prior to that, it was 5.3 [percent]. Every year is its own year and its own decision. The trend is slower growth." 

Collins said the main expenses for the university are paying faculty and staff salaries and that recent building construction has increased facility maintenance costs. 

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"The main sources of revenue to the budget are the endowment and net tuition revenue," Collins said. "Tuition is not going to support the cost of the colleges." 

According to Collins, financial aid will increase to reflect the increase in tuition. 

"Rice has maintained need-blind admissions," Collins said. "[Rice] fully meets financial need. Two-thirds of our entering class used financial aid. Rice cares very much about affordability. I think our financial aid policies reflect that." 

Despite the increase in tuition, Rice still costs less than many peer institutions and is ranked No. 2 for best value, Collins said. 

"For Rice students who come from lower income levels, there are no loan requirements in financial aid packages," Collins said. "We've limited the loans that we require to $10,000 over four years, which is a great deal compared to other schools." 

According to the Rice University press release, total cost of attendance, including mandatory fees and room and board, will be $51,950, a 4.1 percent increase over last year. 

Duncan College freshman Sean Lee said he understood the reasoning behind the increase. 

"The biggest jumps in tuition started after Rice wanted to become a larger and better university," Lee said. "I think we can expect increases in tuition if we really want to attend a top-notch institution." 

Managing Edtior Molly Chiu contributed to this article. 

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