Tuition, Fees Hit $24,880

The Harvard Radcliffe Office of Admissions announced yesterday that total College costs will rise by 5.8 percent for the 1993-94 academic year, the lowest increase in more than twenty years.

But that figure may be deceiving, as the current inflation rate, at 3.2 percent, is the lowest it has been in recent years.

Over the past seven years the cost of attending Harvard has risen by an average of 6.4 percent annually.

Next year, total costs, including room, board, tuition and other charges, will increase from $23,514 to $24,880. Tuition will rise from $16,454 to $17,470, an increase of 6.17 percent.

The College will raise board charges to $2,910, up fromfrom $2,765, and the room rate and student services fees to $4,500, up from $4,295.

The announcement from the Office of Admissions comes at a time when colleges nationwide are struggling under significant financial pressures, prompting several to cut back on academic and athletic programs.

Yale University, which has faced severe budget shortfalls in recent years, announced earlier this year that it will increase the total fees for 1993-94 to more than $25,000.

Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles said despite the budget difficulties the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has experienced in recent years, the College has tried to keep tuition increases at a minimum. In 1991-92 FAS ran a deficit of $11.7 million.

In a financial report to the Faculty last December, Knowles said he is committed to balancing the FAS budget without eliminating student services or financial aid programs.

In a press release yesterday, the University announced that it has cut about $10 million from the FAS expense budget in the past two years "without reductions in instructional programs."

But that claim is questionable. This year, in response to budget constraints, the Core program increased the average number of students in its sections.

Knowles said tuition and fees cover less than 60 percent of an undergraduate education. The remainder comes primarily from income from the University's endowment and gifts for current use.

Harvard will pay out more than $32 million in need-based financial aid next year, maintaining its need-blind admissions policy. And nearly two-thirds of Harvard undergraduates will get some form of financial assistance, with about 45 percent receiving scholarship grants.

Over the past seven years the average scholarship grant to students on financial aid has increased by seven percent annually.

However, increases in tuition have meant that net costs to students on scholarship have risen by 5.8 percent per year, considerably outpacing inflation in the same period.

The Office of Admissions did not return phone calls yesterday

Knowles said tuition and fees cover less than 60 percent of an undergraduate education. The remainder comes primarily from income from the University's endowment and gifts for current use.

Harvard will pay out more than $32 million in need-based financial aid next year, maintaining its need-blind admissions policy. And nearly two-thirds of Harvard undergraduates will get some form of financial assistance, with about 45 percent receiving scholarship grants.

Over the past seven years the average scholarship grant to students on financial aid has increased by seven percent annually.

However, increases in tuition have meant that net costs to students on scholarship have risen by 5.8 percent per year, considerably outpacing inflation in the same period.

The Office of Admissions did not return phone calls yesterday