Old Chapel has set the comprehensive fee at $53,420* for the 2011-2012 academic year, a 2.5 percent increase over this year. After a policy begun in Feb. 2010, the comprehensive fee was limited to an increase of one percent above the Consumer Price Index, guaranteeing that it will not increase out of step with inflation.
President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz wrote in his blog in Feb. 2011 that the initiative — dubbed “CPI+1” — was a response to fears that the high price of a Middlebury education was turning potential applicants away.
“Such increases [in the comprehensive fee] cannot continue [as they have in the past] without a negative impact on the institution,” he wrote. “One has to wonder how much families will be willing to pay for a four-year education, and how many excellent would-be applicants have already decided, or will soon decide, not to apply due to the escalating price.”
Nevertheless, he notes that even with the high price tag, the College remains a popular choice for prospective students as applications continue to hit record numbers.
While the decision to limit the fee does put a strain on College finances, Liebowitz is confident that it will not severely affect the quality of students’ education.
“I believe that by limiting our fee increases we force ourselves to make more thoughtful and consequential decisions regarding the resources available to us,” he said.
Next year’s increase will mark the smallest increase in the comprehensive fee in over four decades. Higher education blog Inside Higher Ed reported that the average increase in comprehensive fees at private, four-year colleges was 4.4 percent, despite near-zero inflation.
*This value represents a correction to a misprint in Thursday's print edition of The Campus. The 2011-2012 comprehensive fee is $53,420, not $53,240. The Campus apologizes for this error.
Comprehensive fee hits 53k
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