Tuition increase means students will pay over $2000 more in fall 2020

A 4.5 percent tuition increase and added fees mean that Augustana University students planning to live on campus in fall 2020 should expect to pay $2150 more than they did during the 2019-2020 academic year.

The tuition increase is the first in four years, with the last being a 2.8% increase during the 2016-2017 academic year.

According to an email from the university, the 2020-2021 increase was unanimously approved during the December Board of Trustees meeting. Research and data analysis was conducted throughout the fall by groups of faculty, staff and students.

At this time, it is not known how academic scholarships will be effected.

How it breaks down

For the 2019-2020 academic year, tuition is earmarked at $33,430. A 4.5 percent increase translates to an additional $1,504, or a total price tag of $34,934 for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Additionally, the general student fee will increase by $160 and include a new student technology fee of $260. This means that the $530 student fee from 2019-2020 will almost double to $950 in 2020-2021.

The university email said these additional student fee costs will be used to “provide program support for student activities, health, and wellness, campus life, campus safety, student recreation, as well as technology infrastructure and services” and “help lead to improved WiFi service, internet support and bandwidth, Help Desk functions, lab systems, [and] audio-visual equipment.”

Room and board fees will also have an added $226, increasing from $8,057 in 2019-2020 to $8,283 in 2020-2021.

General information sessions will be held for students and their families beginning in February 2020, according to the university email. The overall costs for 2020-2021 can be found here.

This is a developing story. Continue to follow the Augustana Mirror when full operations resume in the spring semester for ongoing analysis and reportage.