Student committee recommends new $51,622 comprehensive fee

Author: Brian Fung

The College's comprehensive fee could rise by the lowest margin in recent memory next month, as Old Chapel continues debating how
best to grapple with the nationwide economic crisis. In its February meeting last weekend, the Board of Trustees authorized the Office of the President to raise the comprehensive fee, now at $49,210, by 2.3 to 4.9 percent for the 2009-2010 academic year.

A 4.9-percent increase would put the total cost of one year's Middlebury education, excluding the $380 annual Student Activities Fee, at $51,622 - though President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz was quick to assure troubled students Saturday that such a steep increase was unlikely given the state of most families' finances. At the same time, concerns over higher-educational inflation
are likely to stop the College from
issuing an increase of as low as 2.3 percent.

A presentation to the trustees last weekend by the Student Comprehensive Fee Committee took the middle road, recommending a four-percent hike. If approved, the next academic year's comprehensive fee could stand at $51,179. The four-percent rate of increase would rank among the lowest the College has seen in the past 18 years.

The College's competitors have also indicated they are willing to limit the rate of increase in their comprehensive fees for the 2009-2010 academic year. According to Liebowitz, most other institutions in the NESCAC athletic league
are considering a 3.5- to 3.7-percent jump.
A similar move by Old Chapel would bring the cost of college to between $50,933 and $51,031.

Liebowitz, whose office is responsible
for offering a final number, is unlikely to
make an official announcement about the
comprehensive fee until late March, when
the College will have enough information
about the endowment to predict its behavior over the summer and into the fall. In the past 20 months, the endowment's value has plummeted by more than $300 million.

How other colleges decide to raise their
fees may play a large role in influencing Liebowitz' final decision, but no institution can afford to cut tuition, room and board too aggressively. Higher-education inflation - currently estimated at 3.6 percent - effectively sets a floor for comprehensive fee planning, according to Caroline Woodworth '09, chair of the Student Comprehensive Fee Committee.

"If Middlebury wants to grow and continue to offer important services," said Woodworth in a phone interview, "that 3.6
percent was the lowest we could look to increase the comprehensive fee." Despite Woodworth's commitment to reducing the financial burden on students and their families, the trustees' recommendation comes as the cost of attending Middlebury is expected to exceed $50,000. The milestone is one that the College came close to surpassing when it announced the comprehensive fee for the current academic year, but is virtually assured to do with the coming round of fee hikes.

Only a handful of peer institutions
share Middlebury's place among the most
expensive schools in the nation. Among
NESCAC institutions, Wesleyan has already broken the $50,000 barrier, with a
current upperclassman comprehensive fee
of $50,722. A 3.7-percent increase for the
coming academic year would bring the cost
of a Wesleyan education to nearly $52,600.
In New York, Sarah Lawrence College
charges its students $48,906 for tuition and room fees. Adding the standard first-year meal plan brings the total costs to $51,080. A projected 3.7-percent increase would see the total rise to nearly $53,000.