The Elon University Board of Trustees approved its 2017-2018 fiscal year budget, increasing tuition by 3.46 percent. The total for tuition, room, board and fees will be $46,142.
Undergraduate tuition alone for 2017-2018 will be $33,829. With SGA and health fees factored into the overall cost, undergrad tuition will be $34,273.
In an email sent to faculty and staff on Tuesday, Elon President Leo Lambert called the new cost of attendance "among the smallest increases in more than 25 years." Last academic year's increase of 3.31 percent was the second smallest in at least 27 years. Though an Elon education is still expensive, Lambert insists the cost is worth the value.
"The board is committed to keeping an Elon education affordable and maintaining the university’s best-value position, with a total cost that is more than $15,000 lower than most of our peer private universities," Lambert said.
Elon's budget includes a major investment in financial aid. Lambert said in his email that the university will have a 7.7 percent increase in financial aid to support need-based and merit-based scholarships.
"Financial aid is the biggest thing that we've done," said Steven House, Elon's provost and executive vice president.
Other highlights of the budget include increasing faculty and staff sizes, loan refinancing, entry-level employee salary increases and a 2-percent increase in the general salary pool.
Elon plans to continue its policy of slow undergraduate enrollment growth with a set target of 1,550 incoming students next fall.