Students at the University of Indianapolis will face a tuition increase of 3 percent for the 2015-2016 academic year. Efforts to help compensate for this increase include a 10 percent decrease in tuition for summer courses.
A campus-wide email sent on Feb. 8 to all students that included a letter from President Robert Manuel, announcing that the current full-time tuition rate will increase from $25,154 to $25,910. In addition, the standard residence room will increase from $4,570 to $4,730, and the 14 Meal Plan will increase from $4,440 to $4,594.
The current summer tuition rates are $330 per credit hour and will be reduced to $295 per credit hour to help complete required courses during the summer.
Manuel said that the increase results from the ever-rising costs of maintenance, heating and air conditioning, as well as salary raises, healthcare benefits for faculty and staff and inflation. However, he said that UIndy would remain one of least expensive private universities in the state, even after the price increase.
“We have fully explored all alternatives to a tuition increase and worked close with students about this decision,” Manuel said. “We do not want the school to end up on the low end of the quality scale.”
According to Manuel, the funds for merit aid will be increased by $2 million in the coming academic year, and financial aid from the institution will increase by more than $35 million.
Indianapolis Student Government Vice President Mizraim Lorenzo-Aguilar said that he thinks the increase is fair and it is incredible how UIndy has kept the tuition increase to a about 3 percent.
According to Lorenzo-Aguilar, this will keep UIndy competitive academically but still one of the most affordable private universities in the state.
“Many other schools that are close to our tuition amount have gone through larger increases or have shifted a lot because their increase have affected them,” Lorenzo-Aguilar said. “I think UIndy is doing a great job at keeping it at a good rate compared to other schools.”
As Manuel said in the campus-wide email, he strongly urges students to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at fafsa.ed.gov by March 10. Students also can find links to financial aid applications at uindy.edu/financial-aid.
