Elon University trustees approved the 2010-11 fiscal year budget in a meeting held March 2. The board’s action places a priority on funding objectives of The Elon Commitment strategic plan, while maintaining Elon's affordable cost in setting next year’s tuition, room and board rates.
Approving the smallest percentage cost increase since 1998, trustees set undergraduate tuition and fees for next year at $26,827, and room and board for a typical student will be $8,648. This represents a total package increase of about 5.19 percent and maintains Elon’s position as a top value in private higher education. This year the cost of attending Elon is 5.4 percent below the national private university average and 13.6 percent below the average cost of the other top-ranked private universities in the South.
In identifying financial priorities for next year, trustees added significantly to the instructional and financial aid budgets, including 14 new faculty positions and additional funding for faculty development, study abroad and civic engagement programs, Fellows programs, need-based financial aid, and support for several academic departments. The budget also allows for a greater facility maintenance budget and funds to cover rising utility costs.
Elon is also making a policy adjustment that will affect families who pay tuition, fees, room, and board with credit cards. In the past, the university has borne the cost of paying transaction fees to credit card companies amounting to about $1.1 million annually. Under the new policy, those funds will be diverted to support the university’s academic mission. Effective June 1, families who pay tuition statement bills with MasterCard, Discover and American Express cards will be assessed a 2.75% convenience fee. Visa credit cards will no longer be accepted as payment for the tuition statement bills. Families who wish to avoid the fees are encouraged to use online checks or personal checks, wire transfers, or other payment options. There will be no extra fees for other Elon transactions, such as online tickets or Phoenix Cash deposits. If you have questions about the new payment options, contact the bursar’s office.
In approving the budget, trustees reviewed progress on The Elon Commitment, a ten-year strategic plan approved by board last December. Several committees and working groups are developing Elon’s new General Studies program, planning a new multi-faith center, expanding the international student recruitment program, envisioning a new physician assistant master’s program, implementing the next steps in the faculty scholarship initiative, and planning a dramatic expansion of residential living options on campus.
Construction is under way north of Rhodes Stadium for the new Alumni Field House and the university will sell bonds in coming weeks to fund construction of three new Colonnades residence halls adjacent to the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center, along with five new buildings for fraternities and sororities in the Loy Center. Work will begin on these projects this spring while plans are developed for other new housing facilities elsewhere on campus.