Elon University trustees approved the 2009-10 fiscal year budget in a meeting held March 3. The board’s action included setting next year’s tuition, room and board, as well as approval of the university’s overall spending and revenue for next year.
Next year’s cost increases at Elon will be the smallest percentage rise in the past eight years. Undergraduate tuition and fees will be $25,489, and room and board for a typical student will be $8,236. This represents a total package increase of about 5.9 percent and maintains Elon’s position as a top value in private higher education. This year the cost of attending Elon is 6.7 percent below the national private university average and more than 17 percent below the average cost of the other top-ranked private universities in the South.
The enrollment target of 1,275 for next year’s freshman class will remain the same as the size of the class that entered in fall 2008.
The budget also includes a major reallocation of spending, sharpening the university’s focus on targeting dollars where students benefit the most. Department operating budgets will be reduced by two percent in order to create a pool of funds to advance Elon’s top priorities.
The priority areas of new spending next year will include the following:
- Expanded financial aid
- Nine additional full-time faculty positions, a smaller number than in previous years, but a significant investment at a time when other universities are reducing programs and positions
- Additional funding to support Elon’s top-ranked study abroad program
- Support for faculty and student academic initiatives developed by the President’s Task Force on Scholarship
- Funding to support higher utility costs and the replacement and renewal needs of a growing campus