More Proof that Universities Operate In Ivory Towers Removed From Fiscal Realities

Tuition Fees to Increase 5.9% next year.

The annual rate of inflation is 1.6% according to the consumer price index.

Dartmouth Board of Trustees just approved a 5.9% increase in tuition, room, board and fees for 2001-2012 academic year or $55,365/year total. Dartmouth is currently the most expensive of the seven Ivy League schools.

The cost of room, board and fees for undergraduate students will rise from $12,297 to $13,629, representing an overall 10.83-percent increase. Undergraduate tuition will increase by 4.4 percent in the 2011-2012 academic year, from $39,978 to $41,736.

Cornell University’s undergraduate costs increased by 4.5 percent, The Harvard Crimson reported. At $54,645, Cornell’s costs for the next academic year are closest to Dartmouth’s figure.

Undergraduate costs at Princeton University will increase by one percent to total $49,069 — the lowest in the Ivy League — for the upcoming academic year, according to a Princeton press release.

Harvard University increased its undergraduate costs by 3.8 percent to $52,650 for the 2011-2012 academic year, while Yale University undergraduate fees rose to $52,700, representing a 5.8-percent increase over the previous year, according to press releases from the Universities. Undergraduate costs increased by 3.5 percent at Brown University and 3.9 percent at the University of Pennsylvania.

Columbia University has not yet released the cost of undergraduate tution and fees for the 2011-2012 academic year.